Then came a sudden blast of blessed air, following a swift upward rush, and he found himself struggling in the wild sea with Dick Sanders clinging desperately to him and almost making him go under again.
Luckily Jack, without conscious thought, had chosen the lee side of the burning ship, where the boats hovered, for his leap for two lives. As his head appeared above the surface, the bright glare of the flames showed his form clearly to the anxious watchers who had witnessed his daring dive.
“There he is! Hurrah!” shouted Bill Raynor, who was the first to see him. “Hold on, Jack, old boy, we’ll be with you in just a second.”
“Keep up your heart! We’ll get you!” bellowed Mr. Smallwood.
Jack essayed a feeble wave in response, with the result that he was once more engulfed. But in a few moments he was safe and a dozen pairs of strong arms had drawn him and Dick Sanders into Mr. Smallwood’s boat.
“Heavens, lad, what a dive,” cried the third mate admiringly, when Jack was somewhat recovered and Dick lay covered with seamen’s coats on the floor of the boat.
“Gracious, we thought you were a goner!” exclaimed Raynor, “when the cattle made the first charge. I guess you didn’t hear it, being below. We all came close to being caught. The man on the forecastle, who was unconscious by the time we got on board, was reached in time to be lowered into one of the boats. In the confusion, we thought you were among us. It was not till we reached the boats again that we found our mistake.”
“In the meantime,” said Mr. Smallwood, “those poor devils of steers had reached the rail and not liking the look of the water any better than the fire, charged back again. It was just as the second ‘wave,’ as you might call it, was coming for you that we saw you weren’t with us. Suddenly we sighted you with that poor kid there,” he nodded to the bottom of the boat, “right in the line of their charge.”
“If it hadn’t been for your warning shout, I might not have been here now,” said Jack.
“I saw that and so I yelled with all my power,” said the third officer, “but lad,” he went on, slapping Jack on the back, “when I saw what you were going to do, I regretted having warned you.”