n oar with one
of the crew.

"Come on, my lads!" shouted Ross encouragingly. "We'll hike her up.
Half a dozen of you who have life-belts come round this side, and when
I say 'All together!' lift for all you're worth."

The men obeyed as quickly as they could in the circumstances. Finding
that they could easily keep afloat, the non-swimmers had regained their
confidence. Piloted by those who could swim, the men ranged themselves
along one gunwale of the waterlogged whaler.

"All ready?" asked Ross, whose knowledge of how to empty a waterlogged
Canadian canoe prompted him to try a large, heavy boat. "Together!"

Up rose the boat's gunwale as high as the men's arms could reach, but
with a dull swish the whaler resumed its former position. In lifting
one side the other had dropped deeply beneath the surface, and the
attempt to shake out the water had ended in failure.

"Now then," ordered Vernon, taking his turn to direct operations. "All
swimmers get overboard for a few minutes. Those with life-belts get on
board, and take off your belts."

In five minutes a dozen cork life-belts were available. Manoeuvring
his boat alongside the waterlogged whaler, Vernon gave directions for
the belts to be lashed underneath the thwarts, so that they were
completely submerged. Then taking the whaler's painter he hove taut
until, added to the lifting powers of the cork and the upward strain on
the ropes, the gunwale rose a good three inches above the water.

This done, one of the _Capella's_ men, armed with a baler, began
throwing out the water from the whaler. In another five minutes the
boat showed sufficient buoyancy to allow two more hands to clamber on
board. They, too, baled vigorously, with the result that once more the
whaler was free from water.

Between the two boats, all the survivors of the _Orontabella_ were
easily accommodated; but when at length the midshipmen looked for the
_Capella_, the patrol-boat was nowhere to be seen.

CHAPTER XXI

Adrift in the Channel

"She'll be back for us soon," declared Vernon optimistically,
addressing his chum, for the two boats were within twenty feet of each
other. "Can you see any signs of her now?"

Ross stood upright in the stern-sheets and, shading his eyes with his
hand, gave a careful look in the direction where the _Capella_ was
supposed to be.

"No," he answered. "And I cannot see any signs of the other vessels we
saw some time ago. We'd better le