The captain said, “Very well,” and took a turn or two. But at last he said, “No. Her Majesty's ship must not pass a raft with a man on it, dead or alive.”
He then began to give the necessary orders; but before they were all out of his mouth, a fatal interruption occurred.
Tadcaster ran into Dr. Staines's cabin, crying, “A raft with a corpse close by!”
Staines sprang to the quarter port to see, and craning eagerly out, the lower port chain, which had not been well secured, slipped, the port gave way, and as his whole weight rested on it, canted him headlong into the sea.
A smart seaman in the forechains saw the accident, and instantly roared out, “MAN OVERBOARD!” a cry that sends a thrill through a ship's very ribs.
Another smart fellow cut the life-buoy adrift so quickly that it struck the water within ten yards of Staines.
The officer of the watch, without the interval of half a moment, gave the right orders, in the voice of a stentor;
“Let go life-buoy.
“Life-boat's crew away.
“Hands shorten sail.