One of the deck hands came to the surface and Darby grabbed at his arm.
"All right, bor," the man cried, shaking the water from his hair. "Look arter yourself. Make for the monitor that's bearin' down on us."
Mark and Darby swam about for a while and soon discovered the skipper trying to raise the cook's head above water.
"He's done for," said Snowling. "We can only leave him, poor fellow. But Tom Beckett's behind you, see if you can help him and keep him afloat."
The monitor was close at hand now, firing her howitzers landward as she approached. She dropped a boat, and five of the Dainty's crew were picked up. Eight were either drowned or killed. The survivors were transferred to the Veronica and taken home to Haddisport, while the ships continued their bombardment of the enemy's batteries, although already there was reason to believe that the German plan of seizing Dunkirk and Calais had been successfully frustrated.
The Royal Navy had proved once again the truth of the old saying that it can go anywhere and do anything. But it was soon to prove in a yet more signal manner that Britain's sovereignty of the seas was no mere idle boast, but a glorious reality.
CHAPTER XXIX.
MAX MEETS THE ADMIRAL.
"Ach, my dear Max, how it rejoices me once again to see you!"
Ever since the perilous moment on board the doomed German battleship in the Bight of Heligoland, when Max Hilliger had saved his uncle's life, Admiral von Hilliger had shown a peculiarly affectionate regard for his nephew. In his estimation Max was not only a relative to be proud of, but a hero worthy of high favour, an officer whose knowledge of seamanship, whose patriotism and resourcefulness made him of inestimable value in the Kaiser's naval service.