fected and that he was now ready to make the great
attempt. That signal was now made by lashing a handkerchief to the end
of a boathook and waving it wildly in the air; upon seeing which, Dyer,
who had been manoeuvring the ship with the most consummate judgment,
filled upon her and brought her close up under the derelict's lee.
Then, and not until then, George gave the word, and the now heavily
loaded boat, floating deep in the water, headed out from under the
sheltering lee of the derelict, made a dash across the short space of
turbulent surges that separated her from the _Nonsuch_, accomplished the
passage safely, slipped round under the stern of the ship, now once more
hove-to on the larboard tack, and rounded-to in the comparative "smooth"
of her lee.

But now that she was there, how were the people to be got out of her?
For it was just as dangerous to attempt to lay her alongside the
_Nonsuch_ as it had been to make the same attempt with the _Dona
Catalina_. But Dyer had seen to this; for while the boat had been
absent on her errand of mercy the pilot had ordered a block to be lashed
to the starboard mainyard-arm, a whip rove through it, a boatswain's
chair made fast to the end of the whip, and a hauling line bent on to
the boatswain's chair; and when the boat ranged up under the _Nonsuch's_
lee, there was the whole apparatus dangling in the air, ready to effect
the transfer. To manoeuvre the boat under it and to lower the chair
into the boat was an easy matter, when all that remained was for a man
to get into the contrivance and be hoisted aloft and hauled into safety.
The transfer of the twelve rescued Spaniards was safely accomplished in
considerably less than an hour; and now all that remained was to hook on
the boat and hoist her up to the davits. Yes; that was all; but it was
the most difficult and delicate part of the whole undertaking; yet the
seamanship of George and Dyer proved equal to the task, and another
quarter of an hour saw the boat once more safely dangling at the davits,
with scarcely a scratch on her paint to show what a trying ordeal she
had passed through, and the _Nonsuch_ was again speeding away to the
westward, leaving the derelict to her not long delayed fate.

The quarter boat safely hoisted, George at once turned his attention to
his guests. The black-bearded man, it appeared, was the captain of the
ill-fated _Dona Catalina_, and he introduced himself as simply Captain
Robledo Mart