"Don't you know——"
"I caught the flash of it, sir," spoke the watch officer. "It was as Seaman Hickey said, three points off the starboard bow this time."
"Starboard, two points!" commanded the captain.
"Starboard two points," repeated the quartermaster on duty at the wheel, giving the steering wheel a sharp turn. "She's on the mark, sir."
"Hold it."
"You think it is a wreck, sir?" questioned the watch officer.
"I know no more about it than do you. Naturally it is some vessel in distress, else they would not be making distress signals. You say you caught only the flash—you did not get a sight of the rocket itself?"
"No, sir. I saw the flash, that was all."
The captain glanced up into the darkness.
"She should be ten miles away, then. We ought to be heading about dead on, if your sight was correct. Full speed ahead, both engines."