"Aye, that's the better way of looking at it," chimed in the skipper,
raising his arm at the same time from his station at the end of the
bridge, where he was conning the ship. He then called out sharply, to
enforce the signal.
"Luff up, you lubber, luff!"
"Luff it is, sir," rejoined the helmsman, rapidly turning round the
spokes of the little steam steering wheel. "It's hard over now, sir."
"Steady there," next sang out the captain. "Steady, my man!"
"Aye, aye, sir," repeated the parrot-like Tom Parrell, bringing the helm
amidships again. "Steady it is!"
"By George, we're nearing the boat fast!" cried the skipper after
another short pause, during which we had been going ahead full speed,
with a quick "thump-thump, thump-thump" of the propeller and the water
foaming past our bows. "Starboard, Parrell! Starboard a bit now!"
"Aye, aye, sir," came again the helmsman's answering cry from the wheel-
house. "Starboard it is, sir!"
"Keep her so. A trifle more off. Steady!"
"Steady it is, sir!"
"Now down with it, Parrell!" sang out the skipper, bringing his hand
instanter on the handle of the engine-room gong, which he sounded twice,
directing those in charge below to reduce speed, while he hailed old
Masters on the fo'c's'le. "Hi, bo'sun! Look-out there forrad with your
rope's end to heave to the poor fellows! We're just coming alongside
the boat."
"Aye, aye, sir!" replied Masters promptly, keeping one eye on the
skipper on the bridge and the other directed to the little craft we were
approaching, and now close to our port bow. "We're all ready forrad,
sir. Mind you don't run her down, sir. She's nearly under our
forefoot."
"All right, bo'sun," returned the skipper. "Port, Parrell!"
"Port it is, sir," repeated Tom Parrell. "Two points off."
"Steady, man, steady," continued the skipper, holding his hand up again.
"Boat ahoy! Stand by. We're going to throw you a rope!"
At the same instant Captain Applegarth sounded the engine-room gong
again, bringing the _Star of the North_ to a dead stop as we steamed up
to the boat slanting-wise, the steamer having just sufficient way on her
when the screw shaft ceased revolving, to glide gently up to the very
spot where the little floating waif was gently bobbing up and down on
the wave right ahead of us, and barely half a dozen yards away,
drifting, at the will of the wind, without any guidance from its
occupants, who seemingly were unaware of our approach.
"Boat ahoy!" shouted the skipper once more, raising his voice to a
louder key. "Look-out, there!"
The men in the bows of the boat still remained in the same attitude, as
if unconscious or dead; but the other in the stern-sheets appeared to
hear the skipper's hail, for he half-turned his head and uttered a
feeble sort of noise and made a feeble motion with one of his hands.
"Now's your time, bo'sun!" cried Captain Applegarth. "Heave that line,
sharp!"
"Aye, aye, sir," roared out Masters in his gruff tones. "Stand by,
below there!"
With that the coil of half-inch rope which he held looped on his arm
made a circling whirl through the air, the end falling right across the
gunwales of the boat, close to the after thwart, where sat the second of
the castaways, who eagerly stretched out his hand to clutch at it.
But, unfortunately, he failed to grasp it, and the exertion evidently
being too much for him, for he tumbled forward on his face at the bottom
of the boat, while the rope slipped over the side into the water, coming
back home to us alongside the old barquey on the next send of the sea,
the heavy roll of our ship when she brought up broadside-on, as well as
the weight of the line saturated with water, fetching it in to us all
the sooner.
"Poor fellows; they can't help themselves!" cried the skipper, who had
watched the boatswain's throw and its unsatisfactory result with the
deepest interest. "Bear a hand there, some one forrad, and have another
try to reach them. The boat's drifting past, and we'll have to go
astern to board her in another minute, if you don't look sharp!"
Having climbed into the fore-rigging, however, so as to have a good look
at the boat and its occupants as we neared them, I was quite as quick as
the skipper to notice what had happened, having, indeed, foreseen the
contingency before it occurred.
So, ere Masters or any of the other men could stir a hand, having made
up my mind what to do, I had seized hold of part of the slack of the
line that remained inboard and, plunging into the sea, swam towards the
boat.
A couple of strokes, combined with the forward impetus of my leap
overboard, took me up to the little craft, and in a jiffey I had grasped
the gunwale aft and clambered within her, securing the end of the line I
had round one of the thwarts at once, amid the ringing cheers of the
skipper and my shipmates in the old barquey, who proceeded to haul us up
alongside without further delay, tugging away at the tar rope I had
hitched on, yo-heave-hoing and hurrahing in one and the same breath
right lustily!
So smart were they, so instantaneous had been the action of the moment
during the episode, that we were close in to the ship's side and under
her conning, immediately below the port end of the bridge, where the
skipper stood leaning over the rail and surveying operations, before I
had time actually to look round so as to have a nearer view of the
unfortunate men whom we had so providentially rescued.
When I did though, one glance was enough.