"Help! help!" he sung out; "I'm sinking!  I'm sinking!"  I did my utmost to reach him, but was still some way off.  Surley dashed towards him, and seized him by the collar, holding his head above water.  I saw that the best thing I could do was to tow the life-buoy up to him.  It was not far off.  Surley seemed to divine my intention, and swam towards it. At last I got it up to Jerry.  He had just strength enough left to catch hold of it.  Old Surley put his paws in the beckets to support himself, and then we all three were hanging on to the life-buoy, while the ship, as it seemed to us, was running far away, already almost concealed by the thick clouds of spray with which we were surrounded.