“Afore we could git clear o’ the ship, however, he came yelling to the side an’ said his boat had gone, an’ though we prodded him with our oars he lowered himself over the side and dropped in.
“Fortunately for us it was a lovely clear night; there was no moon, but the stars were very bright. The engines had stopped, an’ the old ship sat on the water scarcely moving. Another boat was bumping up against ours, and two more came creeping round the bows from the port side an’ jined us.
“‘Who’s in command?’ calls out the major.
“‘I am,’ ses the first mate very sharp-like from one of the boats.
“‘Where’s the cap’n then?’ called out an old lady from my boat, ‘o’ the name o’ Prendergast.’
“‘He’s standing by the ship,’ ses the mate.
“‘Doing what?’ ses Mrs. Prendergast, looking at the water as though she expected to see the skipper standing there.
“‘He’s going down with the ship,’ ses one o’ the chaps.
“Then Mrs. Prendergast asked somebody to be kind enough to lend her a handkerchief, becos she had left her pocket behind aboard ship, and began to sob very bitter.
“‘Just a simple British sailor,’ ses she, snivelling, ‘going down with his ship. There he is. Look! On the bridge.’