“Yes,” said I. “I hope before long to take you on board her.”
“That will be very nice; for dear papa and I want to leave this dreadful ship. You will carry us home to Old England, will you!” she said.
“If the cutter makes us out, I hope to get you on shore this evening or to-morrow,” I replied. “But I am not quite certain that she sees us.”
She had just then tacked, and was apparently standing away from us. I watched her eagerly. Again she tacked, and I was certain she saw us. I steered towards her, and now, the breeze freshening, we rapidly neared each other. She stood on, and passing under our stern, kept alongside of us.
“Hillo, D’Arcy, my boy, how did you get there?” hailed my uncle, as he recognised me at the helm.
“Fell in with her, sir. Pray send some fresh hands, for we are sinking; and some prog, for we are starving,” I shouted, in return.
The cutter flew by us, and hove-to a short distance ahead. A boat was lowered, and as we came up, she hooked on to our main-chains, and my uncle stepped on board. I was thus speedily shorn of the honour of command. As soon as I had introduced Mr Marlow and his daughter to him, and given him a brief account of what had occurred, he invited them on board the cutter, ordering me to take charge of them, and to send Hanks with another boat’s crew to assist in working the ship. He had brought some provisions, which very soon restored my hungry people, and enabled them to pull me and my charges on board the cutter, while the fresh hands took their places at the pumps. Even when Miss Alice discovered my unexalted position, she did not seem to esteem me the less, for I had already, I rather fancy, established myself in her good graces. I did my best to make her and her father comfortable in my uncle’s cabin; and Flitch, his steward, soon placed before them such a breakfast as they had not seen for many a long day, to which I, at all events, did not fail to do ample justice. The young lady appeared to think that naval officers were very hungry mortals, as she saw numberless slices of bacon and eggs disappear down my throat.
“We have no lady’s maid on board to attend on you, Miss Marlow,” said I, as I got up to leave the cabin; “but Flitch will put your berth to rights; and if you’ll follow my advice, you’ll turn in and take a good snooze, for you want it, I think.”
The poor little girl was almost falling asleep at table. Mr Marlow thanked me for my good advice, which he said he and his daughter would follow.
When I went on deck I found that the cutter had taken the ship in tow, and that we were running up Channel. My uncle soon came on board, and praising me for my behaviour, said he should try and carry our prize into Portsmouth. He was in high spirits, for he expected to get a good round sum for salvage. The breeze held favourable, and in two days we were steering safely through the Needles passage.