The doctor having now examined the most suffering of the crew, returned on board to report their condition, and obtain the medicines he considered necessary.
Jack liberally supplied the ship with such provisions as were required to take them home. As he was anxious to lose as little time as possible, he also sent Mr Large, the boatswain, with more men on board, who, working assiduously, soon got up a fore jury-mast, repaired the bowsprit, set up topmasts, with their rigging, and bent fresh sails, all of which had been carried away.
The carpenter, having stopped the leak, set to work to patch up the bulwarks, a task the diminished crew of the Argo were unable to accomplish.
Captain Robson gave a sad account of their sufferings. Two men had died of fever, while three had been washed overboard during a previous gale, which had well-nigh sent her to the bottom. “By-the-by, sir,” he said to Tom, “we spoke a ship just as it was commencing, but there was too much sea on to allow us to board her. She was under Dutch colours, bound out to Batavia. She began to signalise us, but all I could make out was what seemed to be ‘British officer, take him on board, say’; but before I could distinguish the other flags, the gale came down on us, and we had too much to do to look after his signals, which probably did not concern us.”
“Could you make out anybody on the stranger’s deck?” asked Tom, eagerly.
“No, sir, for evening was coming on, and we were too far off for that. She was a big ship, high out of the water for one outward bound. However, I did not further note her, and she was soon out of sight. That very night we lost a man overboard, but it was not until some weeks later, after we had been becalmed for ten days or more, that we fell in with the gale which reduced us to the wrecked state in which you found us.”
“I wish you could have made out the signal,” said Tom. “Are you certain that the first part was ‘British officer’?”
“No doubt about that,” answered Captain Robson, “and I am certain as to the other words.”
“That’s strange,” thought Tom. “I wonder whether Desmond could have been on board. If so, we may hear of him from Batavia, or one of the Spice Islands, to which the stranger was bound.”
Tom, as he surveyed the still haggard-looking crew and their commander, felt how unfit they were to continue the voyage to England, and proposed that he should request the captain of the Bellona to strengthen her crew, and assist in navigating her to Saint Helena, or back to the Cape.