CHAPTER II
A STRUGGLE FOR LIFE
LESLIE WARD was the first to pull himself together, for the sudden shock had temporarily numbed the senses of his companion and himself.
The partial recovery of the stricken ketch gave him an opportunity of grasping Guy by the wrist and dragging him to the foot of the companion ladder. By this time the surging water was up to their knees.
"Up with you, old man!" he shouted. "You're not hurt?"
"Don't think so!" gasped Guy breathlessly, for in falling he had tripped across some article of furniture and been winded. "You go first!"
Leslie demurred. Even in the moment of peril each lad seemed inclined to enter into a discussion as to who should precede the other. The gradually rising water settled the argument, and, seized by a temporary panic, the pair scuttled through the companion and gained the deck.
It was still pitch dark. The fog was as "thick as pea soup." Somewhere, although the ship was completely invisible from the deck of the waterlogged craft, could be heard the hiss of escaping steam, the churning of the propeller, and the shouts of the now excited crew of the tramp.
The Laughing Lassie's bows by this time were under water. Her stern was tilted a few feet above the surface, while from the taffrail the inboard end of her nets could just be distinguished.