A chorus answered him. Almost every man of the crew volunteered.
"Which of you is the best swimmer?"
There was a moment's pause and then one of the sailors answered,
"Maryon is, sir."
"Do you think you can get on board?" the officer said, turning to the sailor mentioned.
"I can get to her all right, sir," the sailor answered, "and I'll try to get on board."
"You may try then," was the reply; "we'll drop you right by her. You can swim around the stern and try the lee quarter."
The sailor stripped, and fastening a light line under his arms, waited for the boat to take the required place. How Eric wished that the Eel were there! But Maryon was a fair swimmer, and as soon as he struck out for the ship, the boy felt that he need have no fears for him. The sailor was still a couple of fathoms away from the side of the ship when, suddenly, a piece of wreckage up-ended on a sea and struck him. Those in the boat could not see how heavy was the blow, but it was clear that the sailor was incapacitated, and the crew hauled him inboard. He had a nasty cut on his cheek and his collar-bone was broken. While his hurts were being attended to, Eric saluted the officer.
"Well, Mr. Swift?"
"Mr. Sutherland," he said, "I've done a lot of life-saving work, sir."