Dodd, who was in his cabin, sent the whole crew to the pumps, except the
men at the wheel, and prepared for the worst.
In men so brave as he was, when Hope dies Fear dies. His chief care now
was to separate the fate of those he loved from his own. He took a
bottle, inserted the fatal money in it with a few words of love to his
wife, and of direction to any stranger that should fall in with it;
secured the cork with melted sealing-wax, tied oilskin over it and melted
wax on that; applied a preparation to the glass to close the pores; and
to protect it against other accidents, and attract attention, fastened a
black painted bladder to it by a stout tarred twine, and painted _"Agra_,
lost at sea," in white on the bladder. He had logged each main incident
of the storm with that curt business-like accuracy which reads so cold
and small a record of these great and terrible tragedies. He now made a
final entry a little more in character with the situation:
"About eight bells in the morning watch shipped a heavy sea forward. The
rudder being now damaged, and the ship hardly manageable, brought the log
and case on check, expecting to founder shortly.
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