“Look out, Stone; what is the dhow about? Mr Rhymer will surely soon be sending the boat to our relief—he must have seen our craft go down.”
“Not so sure of that; he’ll not trouble himself about us,” muttered Stone. “If you were there, you’d do it; all officers are not alike.”
Ned was afraid that the seaman might be right, but he did not express an opinion on the subject. Their position was, indeed, a trying one. The sun struck down with intense heat on their heads, while they had not a particle of food to satisfy their hunger, nor a drop of fresh water to quench their burning thirst. The breeze had sprung up, and every now and then a ripple broke over the gunwale, even though Stone kept the canoe before the wind.
“If we had a couple of paddles, we might gain on the corvette; but I’m afraid of using this bit of board, for fear of taking the water in on one side or the other,” said Stone.
“Do not attempt it,” answered Ned; “we should not overtake her unless it should fall calm again, and the commander will surely come and look for us.”
“Provided Mr Rhymer doesn’t tell him we are all lost,” remarked Stone, who had evidently little confidence in the old mate.
Hour after hour went by, the boat was nowhere to be seen, and the dhows’ sails had sunk beneath the horizon. Night was approaching, and as far as the occupants of the canoe could judge, no help was at hand. Ned endeavoured, as well as he could, to keep up the spirits of his companions.
The wind remained light, and the sea was as smooth as a mill-pond. The approaching darkness so far brought relief that they were no longer exposed to the burning rays of the sun, while the cooler air of night greatly relieved them. As the day had passed by, so it appeared probable would the night, without bringing them succour. Ben and the Arab slept, but Ned was too anxious to close his eyes, and Stone insisted on keeping a look-out, on the chance of any vessel passing which might take them on board. Even an Arab dhow would be welcome, for the Arabs would doubtless be willing to receive them on board for the sake of obtaining a reward for preserving their lives. At last the Arab, whose head was resting on Ned’s side, awoke. He appeared to be in a very weak state, and told Ned, in his broken English, that he thought he was dying.
“Try and keep alive until to-morrow morning,” said Ned; “by that time our ship will be looking for us, and as they know where we were left, we are sure to be seen.”
Ned had been calculating that it was about two hours to dawn, when, in spite of his efforts to keep awake, he found his head dropping back on Ben’s legs, and he was soon fast asleep. How long he had been lost in forgetfulness he could not tell, when he heard Stone give a loud hail.