"Confound him!" cried Helston, with well simulated wrath. "We shall never get to sea at this rate."
Orders were made out that the squadron would sail from Spithead in fifteen days' time, and the date of sailing was communicated to the Press.
It was only Helston and Dr. Fox who knew that it would actually sail a week earlier.
"Thank God," exclaimed Helston, "there are only a few more days of these hateful Chinese!"
CHAPTER V
The Squadron leaves hurriedly
A Break-down Averted—The "Sylvia" and the Destroyers
The Narrative is continued by Lieutenant Hugo John
Pattison, R.N.
My name is Pattison, and I'm lieutenant in command of destroyer "No. 1", belonging to Captain Helston's squadron; and trouble enough I had to get her, and shouldn't have done so after all, but for a jolly little girl living at Fareham, who knew the Skipper when he was on half-pay.
"No. 1", of course, you remember, was damaged by the explosion out at Spithead, and had spent weeks in Portsmouth repairing. At last everything was ship-shape again, and on 16th October we were lying alongside the basin waiting for the Skipper, who was coming out on our trials, with steam blowing off in clouds and Elridge, our Engineer, getting very impatient. Presently down came Captain Helston, looking pretty well fagged out, and with him surly old Dr. Fox, and his Yankee secretary. Directly they got aboard, I cast off and threaded my way down the harbour and out to Spithead. As we were passing the end of Southsea pier the Captain borrowed my telescope, and saying, "There they are again", handed it to me.