Hehaddoneitsomehow。AfterwardsArchiedeclaredthatthethingwas‘meeraculous。’Formanydayswewondered，anditwastheoneever—interestingsubjectofconversationtotheendofthevoyage。Weaskedthecook，infineweather，howhefeltwhenhesawhisstove‘reareduponend。’Weinquired，inthenorth—easttradeandonsereneevenings，whetherhehadtostandonhisheadtoputthingsrightsomewhat。Wesuggestedhehadusedhisbread—boardforaraft，andfromtherecomfortablyhadstokedhisgrate;andwedidourbesttoconcealouradmirationunderthewitoffineirony。Heaffirmednottoknowanythingaboutit，rebukedourlevity，declaredhimself，withsolemnanimation，tohavebeentheobjectofspecialmercyforthesavingofourunholylives。Fundamentallyhewasright，nodoubt;butheneednothavebeensooffensivelypositiveaboutit——heneednothavehintedsooftenthatitwouldhavegonehardwithushadhenotbeenthere，meritoriousandpure，toreceivetheinspirationandthestrengthfortheworkofgrace。
Hadwebeensavedbyhisrecklessnessorhisagility，wecouldhaveatlengthbecomereconciledtothefact;buttoadmitourobligationtoanybody’svirtueandholinessalonewasasdifficultforusasforanyotherhandfulofmankind。Likemanybenefactorsofhumanity，thecooktookhimselftooseriously，andreapedtherewardofirreverence。Wewerenotungrateful，Page62
however。Heremainedheroic。Hissaying——thesayingofhislife——becameproverbialinthemouthsofmenasarethesayingsofconquerorsorsages。Lateron，wheneveroneofuswaspuzzledbyataskandadvisedtorelinquishit，hewouldexpresshisdeterminationtopersevereandtosucceedbythewords：——‘AslongassheswimsIwillcook！’
Thehotdrinkhelpedusthroughthebleakhoursthatprecedethedawn。Theskylowbythehorizontookonthedelicatetintsofpinkandyellowliketheinsideofarareshell。Andhigher，whereitglowedwithapearlysheen，asmallblackcloudappeared，likeaforgottenfragmentofthenightsetinaborderofdazzlinggold。Thebeamsoflightskippedonthecrestsofwaves。Theeyesofmenturnedtotheeastward。Thesunlightfloodedtheirwearyfaces。Theyweregivingthemselvesuptofatigueasthoughtheyhaddoneforeverwiththeirwork。OnSingleton’sblackoilskincoatthedriedsaltglistenedlikehoarfrost。Hehungonbythewheel，withopenandlifelesseyes。CaptainAllistoun，unblinking，facedtherisingsun。Hislipsstirred，openedforthefirsttimeintwenty—fourhours，andwithafreshfirmvoicehecried，‘Wearship！’
Thecommandingsharptonesmadeallthesetorpidmenstartlikeasuddenflickofawhip。Thenagain，motionlesswheretheylay，theforceofhabitmadesomeofthemrepeattheorderinhardlyaudiblemurmurs。