"She's calling us up, sir!" the signalman sang out; and oh! it was such a relief, for she signalled, "Mr. Rawlings is aboard", and I was awfully thankful. She was right astern of us, quite half a mile, and he must have been drowned if he had missed her, as there was nothing astern of her, no buoys, or ships, or anything to hold on to.
Dicky ran down below. He is such a soft-hearted chap.
We signalled across that we would send for him, and three of the ward room officers, in their pyjamas, fetched him in the skiff, and I almost blubbed with delight when he came alongside, looking like a drowned rat, and pulling at an oar to warm himself.
We got him down below and out of his wet things, and presently Mr. Langham and the others came back in the gig.
They had pulled round all the buoys astern of the Ringdove and tried to find him, and alongside the Tamar, hoping to find him there, and then, as a last chance, in a terrible state of fright, to the Tyne, and had got the good news that he had just gone back in our skiff.
"I thought it was all U P," Mr. Langham said, and changed into dry things; and then we all had a sardine supper in the gunroom, and most of the ward-room officers came down too, and we were awfully happy and contented, and Jim and Dicky and I "whoofed" two whole tins of sardines between us. Jim told me that he was pretty nearly "done" when he managed to grab hold of the Tyne's gangway, and couldn't drag himself out of the water till he had sung out, and someone had come down and given him a hand.
We had to be awfully quiet, for fear of disturbing the Commander, whose cabin was just overhead, and that was the only drawback to the supper.
Then we all turned into our hammocks; but Jim and I were much too excited to sleep, and besides, we had eaten too much.
Wasn't that a glorious night, and hadn't we jolly well got level with Mr. Rashleigh?
"Worth the risk, every time," Jim whispered.