What happened after that Henry hardly knew, but presently he found himself in the engine-room of the cutter. He was being stripped and rubbed. Some one was giving him hot coffee to drink.
When he was able to get about the ship, he inquired for the others who had been in the sea. The lifeboat, so clumsily manned, had capsized, and one of the English sailors had been drowned. Every other man who had gone to the Wilmington had been rescued. He learned that the Oneida had found the Hiawatha and that both boats were safely on their way to Boston.
Two days later the Iroquois lay peacefully at her anchor off St. George. Rollin came to the wireless shack looking for Henry, who had entirely recovered from his hard experience.
“The captain wants to see you, Mr. Harper,” he said.
Henry rose and made his way to the cabin, wondering what the commander wanted now.
“I suppose you will be going to see your friends at your first opportunity, Henry,” said the captain.
“Indeed I shall, sir.”
“You’ll have a lot to tell them,” smiled the commander.
“Won’t they be surprised when they hear all I’ve got to say!”
“Mr. Harris has been telling me about the last moments of the Wilmington,” continued Captain Hardwick. “Of course your probationary period was up long ago, as you know, Henry, but you haven’t had a chance to see your friends since then. It occurred to me that when you tell them you have passed your probationary period satisfactorily, you might like to add that Captain Hardwick says you have qualified for the Coast Guard in every way. Do you understand, sir? In every way.”