“Phew!” cried Helen, peeping out of a porthole, “where do you suppose all that wind comes from?”
No one answered, for at that moment there came a rending, grinding noise and the great vessel listed sharply to one side. At the same moment came a stentorian cry from above decks, the most heart-rending cry that can be heard aboard ship!
“Man overboard!”
CHAPTER XIII
MAN OVERBOARD
For a moment there was pandemonium on the ship. No one seemed to know exactly what had happened, and shouts and cries rent the air as people blocked the stairs and companionways in a mad scramble for the deck.
Helen and Ruth were among the first to reach the deck, with Chess and Tom close behind them. There they were jostled by a seething mass of humanity and swept on toward the railing.
At the cry of “Man overboard” power had been shut off in the engine room. Fortunately the ship had been proceeding cautiously because of the storm, so that momentum carried it only a short distance from the scene of the accident.
Several lifeboats were lowered and rushed to the spot where life savers had already been thrown to the victim.
A small object was seen bobbing up and down on the water for several seconds and then disappeared.
“Oh, he will drown before they reach him!” cried Helen, putting a hand over her eyes.