Page:The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African.pdf/259

[ 213 ] said we would remain on the dry part of the vessel, and trust to God till day-light appeared, when we should know better what to do.

I then advise to get the boat prepared against morning, and some of us began to set about it; but others abandoned all care of the ship, and themselves, and fell to drinking. Our boat had a pierce out of her bottom near two feet long, and we had no materials to mend her; however, necessity being the mother of invention, I took some pump-leather, and nailed it to the broken part, and plastered it over with tallow-grease. And, thus prepared, with the utmost anxiety of mind, we watched for day-light, and thought every minute an hour, till it appeared. At last it saluted our longing eyes, and kind Providence accompanied its approach with what was no small comfort to us; for the dreadful swells began to subside; and the next thing that we discovered to raise our drooping spirits, was a small key, or desolate island, about five or six miles off; but a barrier soon presented itself; for there was not water enough for our boat to go over the reefs, and this threw us again into a sad consternation; but there was no alternative, we were fore