The passengers were helped aboard the raft, one
after another. Although the raft bobbed up and down on the swell, it was not a difficult matter for the men and the boy to get on, for it was held fast against the side of the ship at a point where it was about even with the deck-rail. Freddie gave a good spring, and was on in no time; Mr. Hanlon, who did not seem in the least uneasy, got aboard with the agility of a cat; there was no trouble with anyone except Aunt Amanda, whose lameness impeded her movements a good deal.
As the Sly Old Fox, with his high silk hat on his head, was about to step over the side, he turned and said:
"I feel it my duty, Mr. Mizzen, to register a complaint against the outrageous treatment to which we are being subjected. I submit under protest, sir; under protest. If I had for one moment imagined—"
"Oh bosh," said Toby. "Push him over, Mizzen." And the Sly Old Fox was in fact somewhat rudely pushed over on to the raft.
None of the others made any objection. Mr. Punch, who usually talked a good deal, was noticeably silent; and when Toby offered him a hand to help him over, he said stiffly:
"Hi thank you sir, but I do not require any hassistance."
When the Churchwarden took his seat in the middle of the raft, it went down alarmingly; but nothing happened, and when the Old Codger with the Wooden Leg was aboard, the party was complete. All the others sat around the Churchwarden, as close as they could huddle. It was evident that the raft would float them, at least until it should become water-logged, or a gale of wind should blow. The men on the ship now let go of the raft, and proceeded to lash together
the remaining mattresses for themselves. The raft floated quietly away from the ship.
Aunt Amanda's arm was about Freddie. He did not feel, however, that he needed her protection. He had already forgotten his first alarm, and he was feeling most of all what an extraordinary adventure it was that had befallen him; the men from the ship would be nearby on the other rafts, the sea was calm, the air was warm, and they would probably be picked up by some vessel before the food gave out. He supposed there were very few boys who had ever sailed the open sea on a mattress.