cutter; but this was not to be wondered at, the
former being rather deep, owing to the very generous supply of water
that the doctor had insisted on carrying for the comfort of the wounded.
Then, some three-quarters of an hour later, came the jolly-boat in
charge of the boatswain; and finally the dinghy, carrying four hands and
in charge of my friend and fellow-mid, Jack Keene, turned up close upon
midnight.

Long ere this, however, we had each in succession spoken the launch,
reporting the distance that we had traversed up to sunset. And, with
the data thus supplied, the master had gone to work upon a calculation
which formed the basis of a sort of table showing the ratio of the
speeds of the several boats, with the aid of which the officer in charge
of each boat could estimate with a moderate degree of accuracy the
position of each of the other boats at any given moment--so long, that
is to say, as the wind held fair enough to allow the boats to steer a
given course. A copy of this table was then furnished to the officer in
command of each boat, after which the captain ordered Mr Flowers to
make the best of his way to Barbadoes, with instructions to report the
loss of the frigate immediately upon his arrival, with a request to the
senior naval officer that a craft of some sort might be forthwith
despatched in search of the other boats. Similar instructions were next
given to me, except that my port of destination was Bermuda. Of course
we each carried a written as well as a verbal message to the senior
naval officer of the port to which we were bound; and equally, of
course, it was impressed upon us both that if we happened to encounter a
friendly craft _en route_, and could induce her to undertake the search,
it would be so much the better. Having received these instructions, and
taken young Lindsay out of the launch, which was a trifle over-crowded,
I at once made sail and parted company, the occupants of the other boats
giving us the encouragement of a farewell cheer as we did so; they also
making sail at the same time on a west-south-westerly course, which
would afford them about an even chance of being picked up by a craft
either from Bermuda or Barbadoes; while, in the event of their being
found by neither, they stood a very good chance of hitting off one or
another of the Leeward Islands.

For the remainder of that night we sped gaily onward, with the wind
about two points free, making splendid progress;