Presently he hailed from the cross-trees, “I can’t see nothing, sir; but the sky away over there looks uncommon bright, and it seems to flicker now and then, as if there was a big fire burning under it.”
“That’ll do; you can come down again,” answered the chief mate. Then, turning to George, he said—
“Depend upon it, sir, there’s a ship afire away over there. Well, we’re steering a course as’ll take us pretty close to her, if so be as there is one; and I suppose, sir, you’ll feel like giving of her a overhaul, won’t you?”
“Most certainly,” answered George earnestly. “We will at least ascertain whether there are any human beings on board her. Mr Ritson,”—to the carpenter, who since Cross’s impressment had acted in the capacity of second mate—“steer your present course, please, as long as the wind will allow you; crack on all you can; and, as soon as the burning ship—or whatever it is—is fairly in sight, give me a call.”
He then descended to his cabin, and in another five minutes had fallen into a state of blissful oblivion.
At eight bells (or four o’clock a.m.) Ritson knocked at George’s state-room door, after calling the chief mate, and said—
“We can see the flames and smoke from the deck, sir, though the ship herself is still hull-down. I’ve been up in the fore-top, howsoever, with the glass, and make her out to be a large ship—close upon a thousand tons, I should say—but I can’t see any people on board of her, nor I can’t make out no sign of boats. She’s all ablaze from for’ard right aft as far as the main-mast, which toppled over and fell for’ard while I was lookin’ at her. I fancy the people must ha’ left her, sir.”
“All right, Ritson,” answered George, “I’ll be on deck in a minute or two.”
Within the stipulated time Captain Leicester made his appearance on deck, and proceeded at once to the fore-top, where, with the aid of his glass, he made a careful inspection of the burning ship.
“Well, Mr Bowen,” he said, when he had completed his examination, and was once more down on deck, “it is as Ritson says: there is no sign of any human being on board her; I have looked long and carefully at her, and am quite sure I should have seen the people moving about, had there been any. We will stand on as we are going, however, and cross her stern; we shall then perhaps get a chance to make out her name. Somehow, she has a familiar look with her, as though I had seen her before; I wonder if she was in the fleet?”