"Seemed withered at the root;
And they could not speak, no more than if
They had been choked with soot".
But all in vain!
The ship passed on.
"They cannot have seen us! They cannot have seen us! Lower the flag to half-mast. Light the fire; they will see the smoke."
All this was done.
All this was done in vain. There was not breeze enough to float the flag.
The fire, too, was a failure. No smoke arose, for the flames licked it up.
No wonder the men gazed after the retreating vessel with weary, weary eyes.
Oh, cruel, cruel, to desert us so!
This was all anyone could say.