'I shall not be able to make plum duff,' said Charlie to Ping Wang,
about half an hour after his loss of the cook's recipe-book.
'There will be a row if the men discover that you don't know how to make
it,' Ping Wang declared, looking serious. 'But never mind that, I have
something more important to tell you. Come aft; the skipper may be
listening to what we are saying.'
They went right to the stem of the trawler and stood against the
gunwale.
'No one can come near us without our seeing him,' Ping Wang said, and
continued at once: 'Could you swim a mile in a sea like this?'
'I think so.'
'Then let us desert the _Sparrow-hawk_ when darkness comes on.'
'But where are we to swim to? I don't see any boats within five miles of
us.'
Ping Wang pointed to the horizon, where the smoke of about half-a-dozen
trawlers was plainly visible.
'That's a fleet of steam trawlers,' he declared, 'and before midnight we
shall be among them. When one comes within a mile or so of us, we will
jump overboard and swim to her. The skippers and men on the steam
trawlers belonging to the large fleets are splendid fellows, and when
they hear what a beast Skipper Drummond is, they won't send us back. We
must start as soon as possible after the midnight shoot, if there is any
trawler near us then.'
'Suppose the skipper thinks we have fallen overboard and sends a boat to
rescue us?'
'I don't think that he would take the trouble. But listen! I can hear
him on the bridge. Don't let him see us talking, in case he suspects
that we are up to something.'
Ping Wang made his way for'ard, while Charlie returned to the galley and
busied himself in making buns. He had made some on the previous evening,
and although he did not enjoy the one that he tasted, the crew found no
fault with them.
As he worked, he could see through the porthole that the fishing fleet
was drawing nearer. Some of the trawlers were miles away on the
starboard bow, and others on the port.
Three hours later, when it was dark, Charlie counted twenty-five
trawlers, and every now and again he could see the mark-ship's rockets
piercing the night gloom. At ten o'clock he calculated that the nearest
trawler was quite three miles away, and judging from the course the
steamers were taking, he began to fear that it would come no nearer. But
shortly before the men turned out to haul, Ping Wang popped his head
into the galley and beckoned Charlie to come outside.
'As soon as we have hauled and shot,' he said in a whisper, 'we must
slip off aft and dive overboard.'
'We shall have to swim nearly two miles.'
'Oh, no; nothing like that distance,' Ping Wang declared, and pointed to
a smack on the starboard side which Charlie had not noticed.
'It's a mission ship,' Ping Wang explained, 'and she will lay to until
daybreak. By the time that we have hauled and shot we shall be abreast
of her, and won't have more than half a mile to swim. The skipper is
fast asleep, and, as the mate is not going to disturb him, we shall have
a quiet haul.'
A few minutes later, Charlie and Ping Wang were tugging at the cold,
dripping net, delighted at the thought that it was the last time they
would have to perform such work.
'It's a splendid haul,' the bo's'un called out to the mate, as the net
of fish was swung over the pound.
As he spoke, the fish fell with a splash in the pound, and, the catch
being extra large, many of the bigger fish jumped out of the enclosure
and wriggled and slid about the deck. Charlie and another man picked
them up and tossed them back into the pound.
As soon as the net had been let right out again, Charlie walked aft and
found that Ping Wang was already there. The other men had gone for'ard
to clean and pack the fish.
'Are you ready?' Charlie asked.
'Quite,' Ping Wang answered, and at once they began to undress.
'I shall not take off my under-clothes,' Charlie said, 'in case the
water is very cold.'
'Nor will I,' Ping Wang said.
In a few moments both were ready.
'Chinee!' the mate shouted from the bridge. 'Chinee!' the men in the
fish-pound repeated.
'They have missed us,' Charlie said. 'I'm off.' He climbed on the
starboard gunwale, balanced himself for a moment and then dived into the
sea. Ping Wang was after him in an instant.
Charlie saw the sailing-boat and made towards it.
'Let us keep close together,' he said to Ping Wang, 'in case anything
should happen to either of us.'
Ping Wang did not wish to waste his breath in talking, but showed that
he agreed with Charlie's suggestion by drawing closer to him. For a
time--they did not know for how long--they swam silently onwards, but
there was a big ocean swell, and often the ship for which they were
bound was completely hidden from their sight for some minutes. When they
did catch sight of her, they found that they were not making rapid
progress. They were still a long way from the ship, and when they had
been swimming for a good time, Ping Wang's courage began to fail him.
'I shall never reach her,' he declared, 'I'm getting tired. It is all up
with me.'
'Nonsense, man,' Charlie answered, swimming a little closer to him.
'Have a rest; float.'
Ping Wang acted on Charlie's advice.
'She was much farther from the _Sparrow-hawk_ than we thought,' Ping
Wang declared, when he had rested for a few moments.
'You're right,' Charlie answered; 'but we shall reach her in ten minutes
at the latest.'
Ping Wang, encouraged by what Charlie had said, turned over and resumed
swimming.
For more than ten minutes they swam steadily onward without saying a
word, but still the sailing-boat was a long way from them, and Charlie
vowed to himself that never again would he attempt to judge distances at
sea.
A few minutes later Ping Wang again turned on to his back. He did not
utter a word, but Charlie knew by his heavy breathing that he was nearly
exhausted. When he had lain there for some minutes he said, with a gasp,
'I will have one more try,' and started off again. But when he had swum
a few yards he said, feebly, 'I can't reach her. Don't you bother about
me. Look after yourself.'
'I won't go aboard her without you,' Charlie declared, and kept a closer
watch on his companion. Soon he saw that Ping Wang, if left to himself,
would be drowned.
'Turn on your back and lie still,' he said, 'and I'll tow you.'
Very fortunately Charlie had often practised the art of saving life from
drowning, and therefore had no difficulty in supporting Ping Wang, who
had the presence of mind to lie still. In a few minutes the Chinaman
recovered somewhat, and Charlie, seeing the improvement, said, 'If you
can support yourself for a few moments I'll hail the ship.'
'All right,' Ping Wang replied, and Charlie, letting him go, turned over
and shouted towards the sailing ship, 'What ho, there!'
For two or three minutes he waited for an answering shout, but none
came.
'What ho! what ho!' he sang out, and almost immediately he saw some
lights moving about on the deck of the ship.
'Help, help!' he shouted with all his strength.
'Coming,' was the faint reply that reached him, and almost at the same
moment he noticed that a boat was being lowered.
'We shall be picked up in a few minutes,' he said to Ping Wang, and the
good news had such a reviving effect upon the Chinaman that he turned
over and began to swim again.
'Lie still,' Charlie shouted, knowing that his companion's strength
would otherwise soon expire.
Ping Wang obeyed instantly.
'Where are you?' the men in the boat called out.
'Here,' Charlie answered, and so that the boat might not have much
difficulty in finding them, he hailed her every few moments.
Sometimes he caught sight of her on the top of a wave, and then he would
see nothing more of her for quite a minute. But at last she reached
them.
'Take my friend first,' Charlie sang out to the man who was holding
aloft a big lantern to get a look at them.
In a moment the boat was brought alongside Ping Wang, who was fished out
in a state of collapse. Charlie, almost unaided, scrambled in, and at
once busied himself in striving to revive his companion. Fortunately he
was successful, and by the time the boat reached the ship, Ping Wang was
not much the worse for his long and unpleasant swim.
(_Continued on page 242._)
[Illustration: "Ping Wang was fished out in a state of collapse."]
[Illustration: "Charlie sprang upwards, and climbed aboard."]
AFLOAT ON THE DOGGER BANK.
A Story of Adventure on the North Sea and in China.
(_Continued from page 239._)