After that, five able-bodied men jumped on board, each watching his chance, until only the Skipper and the sick man were left. Meantime the Captain leaned over the rail and asked the Skipper whether he had any tackle by which the invalid could be raised, as he was evidently unable to walk; the Skipper shook his head, and the Captain then threw him a swimming belt and line which had been used on the Bright Wing in exceptional cases, to teach beginners to swim.
The bowline was then hauled in until the lifeboat drew close to the boat boom, which had been let down by the Captain’s orders. The Skipper then hauled on the boom lines until the stern of the lifeboat lay close to the tip end of the boom. He then strapped the belt around the old man’s waist and fastened the line attached to it with a bowline knot to the end of the boom.
As soon as the patient had been properly strapped up, the Captain gave the signal, and his frail old body was hoisted into the air slightly above the height of the rail. Then the boat boom was swung over the rail, and, as soon as the bent body of the old man had passed over the side, hanging, with a slight swinging motion, about two feet above the deck, Mr. Wentworth took him in his arms and Jack Perkins unfastened the belt. Then they carried him to the day bunk, and the boys supported him with pillows, while Mr. Wentworth and Jack went back to help haul the lifeboat alongside the ship. The Skipper passed up several cases containing a sextant, compass, and chronometer,—also a long tin tube in which was a roll of charts,—and then, in his turn, he stepped on to the deck.
Meantime the old man had been left on the day bunk in charge of Tom, Dick and Chippie, who happened to be the boys nearest at hand, when—suddenly—they noticed that he had turned deadly pale and had evidently fainted.
“Take the pillows from under his head, Tom,” said Dick. “We’ll lay him perfectly flat, and, Chippie, you unbutton his shirt and free his throat and chest. I’ll take off his boots and rub his legs upward.”
“Now, Tom, go below and get some fresh water and a towel.”
The boys worked so quietly together—without any excitement or haste—that hardly any one else knew that the old gentleman was unconscious until gradually the other boys gathered around the day bunk, when Tom said:
“Stand back, fellows, you’re cutting off the air from him; one of you run and report to Mr. Miller what has happened.”
In another minute Mr. Miller was looking over the heads of some of the smaller scouts at the patient on the day bunk, and smiled his approval of the way in which the three boys were working. Just then the old man opened his eyes, and Mr. Miller leaned over to feel his pulse.
“It’s fairly good, and I think we can put back the pillows now, and he’ll feel more comfortable. But we’ve got to keep him warm, Smith, so run down below and get a couple of blankets. We’ll let him stay up in the fresh air as long as we can.”