If there was an infidel on board
who did not believe in God, now his soul felt Him, in spite of the poor
little head. As for Dodd, who was naturally pious, he raised his eyes
towards that lovely sky in heartfelt, though silent, gratitude to its
Maker for saving the ship and cargo and her people's lives, not
forgetting the private treasure he was carrying home to his dear wife and
children.
With this thought, he naturally looked down, but missed the bladder that
had lately protruded from his pocket He clapped his hand to his pocket
all in a flutter. The bottle was gone. In a fever of alarm and anxiety,
but with good hopes of finding it, he searched the deck; he looked in
every cranny, behind every coil of rope the sea had not carried away.
In vain.
The sea, acting on the buoyant bladder attached, had clearly torn the
bottle out of his pocket, when it washed him against the mast. His
treasure then must have been driven much farther; and how far? Who could
tell?
It flashed on the poor man with fearful distinctness that it must either
have been picked up by somebody in the ship ere now, or else carried out
to sea.
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