slowly by.

Early in the night Sancho Ruiz was taken with a great
cramp and a swimming of the head. He called to one of
the watch to come take the helm for a little, but none answered;
called again and a ship boy sleeping near, uncurled
himself, stretched, and came to hand. "It's all safe, and
the Admiral sleeping and the master sleeping and the watch
also!" said the boy. Pedro Acevedo it was, a well-enough
meaning young wretch.

Sancho Ruiz put helm in his hand. "Keep her so, while I
lie down here for a little. My head is moving faster than
the _Santa Maria_!"

He lay down, and the swimming made him close his
eyes, and closed eyes and the disappearance of his pain, and
pleasant resting on deck caused him to sleep. Pedro Acevedo
held the wheel and looked at the moon. Then the
wind chose to change, blowing still very lightly but bearing
us now toward shore, and Pedro never noticing this grow
larger. He was looking at the moon, he afterwards said
with tears, and thinking of Christ born in Bethlehem.

The shore came nearer and nearer. Sancho Ruiz slept.
Pedro now heard a sound that he knew well enough. Coming
back to here and now, he looked and saw breakers upon a
long sand bar. The making tide was at half, and that and
the changed wind carried us toward the lines of foam. The
boy cried, "Steersman! Steersman!" Ruiz sat up, holding