He would not for a million have shot the unhappy madman, and yet he durst not approach Miss Vanderholt whilst that huge and brawny lunatic watched him.
The seaman in the boat concluded that his shipmate had lost his mind.
'What the blooming blazes,' he thought to himself, 'is Bill a-jawing about, with his Ryle yachts and Ryle Standards?'
And he looked right up into the sky.
'Stand by now, Tom, to receive her Ryle 'Ighness!' shouted the sailor, with a glance at the madman. 'As her 'Ighness must go first, there's no harm, I hope,' said he, 'in her walking face foremost?'
'She always do,' shouted the boatswain. 'Bow her to the rail, and hand her over.'
Nothing could have been better. The swell gave them a good deal of trouble, but two of them were sailors, and presently Miss Vanderholt was in the boat. Captain Parry sprang into the chains, and, watching his opportunity, leapt, and was by his sweetheart's side in a minute.
The madman overhung the rails, staring greedily. He knuckled his brow as one who would drive a pain out of his brain, then began to laugh when Captain Parry jumped into the boat.
'Bring him along, Bill. You lay he'll know what to do!' cried the sailor in the boat.