'Save me! Save me!' he cried, and then looked around at the blanket of fog. His horror turned to despair, and he said calmly, 'You had better come too, captain, before it is too late.'

'He is there! I know the secret now. The sea will save me from him, and the sea is all that is left!' Before I could say a word, or move forward to get hold of him, he sprang on to the side of the ship and deliberately jumped into the sea. I suppose I know the secret too, now. It was this madman who killed the men one by one, and now he has followed them himself. God help me! How am I to explain all these horrors when I get to port? When I get to port! Will that ever happen?

4 August. Still fog, which the sunrise cannot get through, I know there is sunrise because I am a sailor. There is no other reason. I did not dare to go below, I dared not leave the wheel. So I stayed here all night. In the dark of the night I saw It, Him! God, forgive me, but the mate was right to jump overboard. It was better to die like a man. To die like a sailor in blue water. No man can object to that. But I am the captain, and I must not leave my ship. But I shall stop the plan of this monster. I shall tie my hands to the wheel when my strength begins to fail, and in my hands I shall tie something which He, It, dares not touch.

Vocabulary:

Cry: Here it means a wild shout
Despair: The feeling that there is no hope
Sprang: Jumped
Overboard:Over the side of a ship
Object: (verb) Say something is wrong