Then the sound would recede into the distance, and we would become despondent again.
III—"WE WERE FLOATING OVER DYNAMITE"
It was extremely irritating, whilst anxiously following these sounds with straining ears, to hear the swish, swish of the water across the floats, the ripple as it rejoined the ocean again, and the creak, creak of the great wings as we rose and fell with a squelch on the gentle undulations of a swell.
These sounds eventually developed into a perfect nightmare. Every swish and creak seemed to pierce our brains.
Eventually we climbed up into the seats again for a while and stared our eyes out scanning the horizon with our powerful glasses. Every piece of flotsam seen we dubbed a boat, till it drifted near enough to make out detail.
The wind got up a little and died down again, but it shifted the haze somewhat.
In the afternoon we saw a sight which gladdened our hearts.
High up to the nor'-west, and dropping towards us, was a bird-like machine. Nearer and nearer it came, till we could hear the engines clearly. Soon we identified her marks, which set our fears at rest. It was a British 'plane.
We sprang up, gesticulated wildly, and fired a few pistol-shots just to relieve our excitement.