A little later Peter, who had contrived to "cut out" the plaintive and persistent inquiry as to the words following overcoat, got into touch with the P. & O. liner Nowabunda. From her he learnt that the Passionflower had been sending out her SOS for an hour before the West Barbican had picked up the distress call.
Either Watcher Plover had been asleep for some time before being awakened by the skipper, or else his untrained ear had failed to detect the low notes of the distressed vessel's emergency set. The actual result was the same. The West Barbican, although nearest to the Passionflower when she first began the call for aid, had passed by unheedingly. Had she proceeded to the spot she could have towed the crippled vessel into Portsmouth or Southampton with very little difficulty.
This is what the Portsmouth tug Sampson did, the Passionflower being dry-docked just in time to save her from foundering. In the Admiralty courts the salvage earned the Sampson £11,000, and this the West Barbican lost simply and solely through Watcher Plover's incapacity.
CHAPTER XI
The Old Man is Disturbed
Captain Antonius Bullock had turned in for the night. He had received the reports of the officer of the watch and the engineer of the watch, the time signals and weather reports from the Wireless Officer, and was now free from the cares of command until such time as his steward called him. He might be called within the next minute; but with luck he hoped to remain undisturbed until six bells in the morning watch.
It was now 1 a.m. The West Barbican had passed Ushant twenty miles to port, and was entering the Bay of Biscay.
The weather was still cold, but the wind had moderated considerably, coming off the land. The Bay was on its best behaviour, and consequently the passengers, who were beginning to find their sea-legs, were wandering farther afield than the limited expanse between the saloon and their respective cabins.
The notice on the Old Man's door, "Don't knock, come in", had disappeared. Captain Bullock had seen to that. It served its purpose when the ship was getting ready for sea, but once the passengers came on board the brusque invitation vanished.