'I shall not take off my under-clothes,' Charlie said, 'in case the water is very cold.'
'Nor will I,' Ping Wang said.
In a few moments both were ready.
'Chinee!' the mate shouted from the bridge. 'Chinee!' the men in the fish-pound repeated.
'They have missed us,' Charlie said. 'I'm off.' He climbed on the starboard gunwale, balanced himself for a moment and then dived into the sea. Ping Wang was after him in an instant.
Charlie saw the sailing-boat and made towards it.
'Let us keep close together,' he said to Ping Wang, 'in case anything should happen to either of us.'
Ping Wang did not wish to waste his breath in talking, but showed that he agreed with Charlie's suggestion by drawing closer to him. For a time—they did not know for how long—they swam silently onwards, but there was a big ocean swell, and often the ship for which they were bound was completely hidden from their sight for some minutes. When they did catch sight of her, they found that they were not making rapid progress. They were still a long way from the ship, and when they had been swimming for a good time, Ping Wang's courage began to fail him.
'I shall never reach her,' he declared, 'I'm getting tired. It is all up with me.'
'Nonsense, man,' Charlie answered, swimming a little closer to him. 'Have a rest; float.'