Lieutenant-Commander Richard Crosthwaite was in high spirits. He thought that he had succeeded in bluffing the commodore to give his permission to rejoin the rest of the fleet instead of being ordered back to the Firth of Forth. As a matter of fact, his senior officer, realizing that a "stout heart goes a long way", had purposely refrained from asking a lot of awkward questions concerning the Calder's injuries. In the forthcoming and projected night attack every destroyer available would be needed to put the fear of the British navy into the minds of the Huns and 21-inch torpedoes into the vitals of their battleships.
The spirit of the Calder's skipper was shared by every member of the crew. Even the wounded showed reluctance to be transferred to the parent ship; those whose injuries did not prevent them from getting about sturdily asserting that they might be of use. Those obliged to take to their hammocks were emphatic in impressing upon their more fortunate comrades the request "to get their own back".
The sun was low in the north-western sky when the Calder's look-out men sighted two vessels slowly making their way in the direction of home. One, evidently badly damaged, was in tow of the other.
It was part of the destroyer's duty to investigate, since it might be possible that the vessels were hostile craft endeavouring by making a wide detour to reach their base.
A wireless message, in code, was sent from the Calder, requesting the two vessels to disclose their identity. The reply left Crosthwaite no longer in doubt. The towing ship was the Engadine, while the crippled craft wallowing in her wake was the heroic Warrior.
It was Crosthwaite's opportunity to regain the services of his sub-lieutenant if the latter had been lucky enough to escape from the terrible gruelling to which the British cruiser had been subjected.
Closing to within a cable's length of the Warrior he signalled:
"Request permission to take off my sub-lieutenant."
To which the Warrior replied:
"Permission granted, provided no needless risk to His Majesty's ships."