The waves dashed and the lightning flashed and thethunder rolled and the ship struck a rock. BetsyBobbin was running across the deck and the shocksent her flying through the air until she fellwith a splash into the dark blue water. The sameshock caught Hank, a thin little, sad-faced mule,and tumbled him also into the sea, far from theship's side.

When Betsy came up, gasping for breath becausethe wet plunge had surprised her, she reached outin the dark and grabbed a bunch of hair. At firstshe thought it was the end of a rope, butpresently she heard a dismal "Hee-haw!" and knewshe was holding fast to the end of Hank's tail.

Suddenly the sea was lighted up by a vividglare. The ship, now in the far distance, caughtfire, blew up and sank beneath the waves.

Betsy shuddered at the sight, but just thenher eye caught a mass of wreckage floating nearher and she let go the mule's tail and seized therude raft, pulling herself up so that she rodeupon it in safety. Hank also saw the raft andswam to it, but he was so clumsy he never wouldhave been able to climb upon it had not Betsyhelped him to get aboard.

They had to crowd close together, for theirsupport was only a hatch-cover torn from theship's deck; but it floated them fairly well andboth the girl and the mule knew it would keepthem from drowning.

The storm was not over, by any means, when theship went down. Blinding bolts of lightning shotfrom cloud to cloud and the clamor of deepthunderclaps echoed far over the sea. The wavestossed the little raft here and there as a childtosses a rubber ball and Betsy had a solemnfeeling that for hundreds of watery miles in everydirection there was no living thing besidesherself and the small donkey.

Perhaps Hank had the same thought, for he gentlyrubbed his nose against the frightened girl andsaid "Hee-haw!" in his softest voice, as if tocomfort her.

"You'll protect me, Hank dear, won't you?" shecried helplessly, and the mule said "Hee-haw!"again, in tones that meant a promise.

On board the ship, during the days that precededthe wreck, when the sea was calm, Betsy and Hankhad become good friends; so, while the girl mighthave preferred a more powerful protector in thisdreadful emergency, she felt that the mule woulddo all in a mule's power to guard her safety.

All night they floated, and when the storm hadworn itself out and passed away with a few distantgrowls, and the waves had grown smaller and easierto ride, Betsy stretched herself out on the wetraft and fell asleep.

Hank did not sleep a wink. Perhaps he felt ithis duty to guard Betsy. Anyhow, he crouchedon the raft beside the tired sleeping girl andwatched patiently until the first light of dawnswept over the sea.

The light wakened Betsy Bobbin. She sat up,rubbed her eyes and stared across the water.

"Oh, Hank; there's land ahead!" she exclaimed.

"Hee-haw!" answered Hank in his plaintive voice.

The raft was floating swiftly toward a verybeautiful country and as they drew near Betsycould see banks of lovely flowers showing brightlybetween leafy trees. But no people were to be seenat all.