To his surprise he found Aubyn bending over the body of a badly wounded stoker.
"Found him below, sir," explained the sub. "Double fracture of the leg and a nasty gash on his head."
With his captain's assistance Terence proceeded to apply rough splints to the injured limb and to staunch the flow of blood from the man's head.
"We'll soon have him out of it," remarked Captain Holloway. "The gig's returning, and I see the whaler is coming up as hard as she can."
He pointed to the boat which had taken the invalid to the sick-quarters. Alarmed by the explosion and concluding that something had befallen the ship, the ship's crew had bent to their oars with a will, to find on drawing clear of the hard that the "Terrier" was on the point of sinking.
The sub. felt himself shivering. The keen wind blowing against his saturated nether garments reminded him that it was mid-winter. As he stooped to wring the water out of the bottoms of his trousers he realized that the unconscious stoker, who a few moments before had been toiling in the hot stokehold, was now lying stripped to the waist.
Removing his great-coat and muffler Terence slipped the garments over the unfortunate man, just as the gig and the whaler came alongside.
This time there were plenty of helpers. Carefully the stoker was lowered into the whaler and placed in the stern-sheets.
"Give way, my lads," ordered Captain Holloway. "Run this man up to the sick-quarters as hard as you know how."
Then turning to Aubyn he added,