'What the deuce is that?' asked MacDonald, as an excited, irregular, and strident 'He-he-haw-haw-haw!' burst out from the murk ahead.
Wooten laughed. 'Sounds exactly like a donkey braying,' he said. 'As a matter of fact, it's some blighter playing on one of those hand fog-horns. Sailing-craft of sorts. He's right ahead, too. Keep your eyes skinned!'
A moment later there came a wild yell from the forecastle, 'Ship right a'ead, sir!'
'Starboard! Hard a-starboard!' the skipper ordered at once, as a blurred silhouette came out of the mist right under the destroyer's bows. 'By George! we've got her!' His heart was in his mouth, and he gripped the rail convulsively and waited for the crash.
But they didn't hit her quite; for the Mariner, turning sharply to port under her helm, just shaved past within a fathom of a small decked sailing-boat with brown, idly flapping sails. An ancient mariner in a billycock hat at her wheel stared up open-mouthed at the destroyer's bridge, and then, yelling like a maniac, darted aft and hauled in on the painter of the dinghy towing astern. He did it just in time to save his small boat from being run into and destroyed. Farther forward a red-faced boy, with one hand on the pump-handle of a battered brass fog-horn, looked up with frightened eyes, as they passed so close that Wooten could almost see the drops of moisture on his rough blue jersey.
The midship gun's crew happened to be cleaning their weapon as the boat drifted by.
''Ow do, granfer?' said the irrepressible Billings, stepping to the rail and removing his cap with a low bow. 'Where did yer git that 'at?'
'You keep a civil tongue in yer —— 'ead!' retorted the aged fisherman with some heat.
'Now then, yer naughty boy,' answered the seaman, wagging a finger reprovingly, 'don't git usin' sich langwidge. Comin' aboard ter 'ave a nice drop o' rum?'
'Go to 'ell!' shouted the naughty boy, purple in the face. 'You —— torpeder deestroyers'll be the —— death o' th' likes o' me! Second —— time we've bin nearly run down this marnin'! W'y can't you —— look where you're —— well goin'? We've got our —— livin' to get'—— The remainder of his remarks were inaudible as his craft dropped astern and was swallowed up in the fog.