"Have—a—sand-wich?" said Mr. Armstrong, producing a bulky package which Richards had prepared for him. They ate them sitting on the top of the picket-boat's cabin, as she bobbed and bumped against the side of the pier. Mr. Armstrong told them that one of the Generals coming down was a cousin of his named Bailey, and that if he did come down to this pier he wasn't to go off without seeing him. General Bailey had a brother who had been a Sub in charge of a gun-room when Mr. Armstrong was a midshipman in it. "A—thundering—good—chap," Mr. Armstrong said. "He—used—to—beat—me— thundering—hard—have—an-other—sandwich."
Before the sandwiches were finished, the Orphan had to go up to the Captain's beach office. The Senior Military Landing Officer, rather upset about something, was talking nervously.
"Oh, Mr. Orpen, there are some men who can't be taken off from Gully Beach, round by the left flank, on account of the heavy sea," the Captain said calmly. "They are starting to march this way. Go down and tell the Pier-master and Mr. Armstrong to collect as many empty motor-lighters as possible. Come back here when you have given this message."
When he returned, the Captain gave him a signal to take up to the temporary "wireless" station, a little way along the top of the cliff.
"You had better hurry," he said, good-humouredly, looking at his watch, "if you really don't mind, or they'll be packed up before you get there."
The Orphan dashed off up the main road, and then along the branch path to where he knew the "wireless" station had been "put up".
"You're just in time," the Naval Lieutenant in charge of it said; "I was just going to give the order to 'pack up'."
"Here!" he shouted to the operator. "Call up those two destroyers; they'll be wanted to come alongside the 'Outer Hulk'."
"The N.T.O. says you can pack up when you get those signals through, sir," the Orphan said.
"All right; those destroyers will have the deuce of a time getting alongside if the wind goes on increasing as it's been doing for the last half-hour," the Lieu-tenant said. "What d'they want 'em for? anything gone wrong?"