There was dead silence while for a moment we looked in each other’s frightened faces.
Then I got up and left the saloon. Outside I shouted for him; no answer.
I hurried on deck to find the captain; it was still raining hard, and the captain was in his shelter up on the bridge. The light from the binnacle struck up on the resolute face of Joyce at the wheel.
“Captain Evans!”
“Sir!”
“Did you see Mr. Parsons come on board?”
“Can’t say I particularly noticed him, sir.”
“Joyce, did you?”
“No, sir.”
“He wasn’t in our boat, was he?”