Phil was so astonished at the man’s action that it was some moments before he realized that a ring had been left in his hand. He examined it eagerly in the dim light of an oil lantern; what was his surprise to find that it was of massive carved gold, set with a green jade stone.
As the launch was secured alongside of the “Phœnix’s” gangway, Phil stepped to the coxswain’s side and took the sailor’s rough hand in his own, much to the embarrassment of the latter.
“Blake,” the lad said earnestly, “you saved my life, and you did it as coolly as if you had been only making a landing alongside the ship.”
“It was nothing, sir,” the coxswain answered quickly, his face beaming; “but to think of your jumping into this river to save a Chink,” he added admiringly.
“My act was upon impulse,” Phil declared earnestly, “and took no real nerve, while you deliberately measured your chances and saw that the odds were dead against you; one slip, one spoke too little helm, one revolution too few with the engines, and you and your crew would have been swept underneath that mass of junks, and knowing this you took the chance and had the nerve and grit to steer your boat cleverly to safety and me with her. My act is insignificant beside yours.”
Leaving the coxswain still wondering at his words of praise, Phil reported his return and went at once to his room for dry clothes. Although the hour was early, and there were many things over which he would have liked to talk with Sydney and their new friend Langdon, when once in dry, warm clothes he found his exertions of the past hour had sapped his strength, and he was soon fast asleep. Nor did he awake until the sun was streaming in through his port-hole.
Turning out promptly, and making a hasty toilet, he was soon in the mess-room, where he found the full mess at breakfast, and all discussing the seriousness of the present crisis.
As he put his hands on the table the brightness of the ring the Chinaman had given him startled him; the deep green of the stone stood out clearly against the white tablecloth. Langdon, sitting beside him, espied it immediately and grasped the boy’s hand, examining the ring closely.
“Royal jade!” the pilot exclaimed. “Where did you get it? That’s one of the finest stones I’ve seen in years.”
Phil felt abashed, not wishing to relate his experience before the mess.