Just then the captain of the fishing-vessel came below, and seeing that Jack was awake, he called out to one of the men to bring a basin of the soup which had been kept for him.
While he was swallowing it, a man brought him his clothes, which had been sent forward to dry. The captain then made signs to him to dress, as he intended taking them both on shore with him.
Bill helped Jack, who was somewhat weak, to get on his clothes. They then went on deck.
The vessel lay in a small harbour, protected by a reef of rocks from the sea. Near the shore were a number of cottages, and on one side of the harbour a line of cliffs running away to the eastward.
Several other small vessels and open boats lay at anchor around.
The captain, with the interpreter, whose name they found was Pierre, got into the boat, the latter telling the lads to come with them.
They did as they were directed, sitting down in the stern-sheets, while the captain and Pierre took the oars and pulled towards the shore.
It was now evening, and almost dark. They saw the lights shining in the windows of several of the cottages.
Pierre was a young man about nineteen or twenty, and, they fancied, must be the captain’s son. They were right, they found, in their conjectures.
Pierre made them understand, in his broken language, that he had some short time before been a prisoner in England, where he had been treated very kindly; but before he had time to learn much English, he had been exchanged.