Again came that mighty voice:
“Is there any hope of escape on your side? If so, hail three times.”
He replied. After a short delay he heard the order:
“Haul in!”
Attached to the noose of his rope was another rope, and a second thinner one, rigged as a “whip,” or communicating cord. Tied at the junction was the megaphone. The intent of the senders was plain. He was to bawl directions, and they would obey.
He fancied that by this time the topmast must be near the rock, if not quite touching it, but he had decided already that he would either save those hapless people in the chart-room or die in the attempt.
Perhaps his “wife” was there yet. Unless those American sailors had broken the first law of their order of chivalry, the women committed to their care had been safeguarded.
Well, he owed her a life. Now he might be able to repay the debt in full.
He had never before handled a speaking trumpet, so his initial essay was brief: