“Then we are not hurt as badly as you thought, sir?”
“No, the report is that the bow bulkhead is holding, although our forward plates are stove in. Thank goodness, we didn’t hit harder!”
“Yes, indeed, sir.”
“When daylight comes we’ll start to patch up. I hope this witches’ broth of a fog will have held up by then.”
“I’m glad that it was no worse, sir.”
“And so, indeed, am I, although, if it comes on to blow, there may yet be a different yarn to spin.”
The captain and the officer went forward, and Jack was left alone.
He took the opportunity to snatch a nap, adjusting the “wireless alarm” so that any ship that came within the zone would awaken him instantly.
Twice during the long night he tried to raise some other craft, but each time failed.
“I guess they’ve called in all the ships on the ocean,” said the boy to himself as, after the second attempt, he desisted from his efforts for the time being.