“When?”
“Just at the break of day.”
“How did he approach you? How did he come aboard?”
“As for the manner in which he approached me, I have only the account of my men to rely upon, for I was asleep in my berth at the time.”
“Tell me, then, what was told you about it.”
“Simmons—he’s my captain—tells me that it was just coming daylight when he noticed a strange-looking craft lying directly across our bows, half a dozen cable-lengths ahead of us. We were going under half-speed at the time, and Simmons had just taken in his lights.
“He whistled to pass to starboard, and put his helm over for that purpose, when, much to his surprise, the stranger backed swiftly, so that he kept directly across our course.
“Simmons didn’t know what to make of that, so he whistled to pass to port, and changed his course to do that, thinking that perhaps the stranger’s engines were disabled, or something of that kind.”
“Well?”
“The strange-looking craft, instead of replying to Simmons’ signal, shot ahead, and again laid across our course, and by this time Simmons had approached so closely that he was compelled to reverse his engines in order to avoid a collision.