, for she had a
lot of long hair streaming over her shoulders, all flying about in the
wind."

"What was she doing?"

"She appeared to be waving a white handkerchief or something like that,
as if to attract our attention--asking us to help her, like."

The skipper drew himself up to his full height on my telling this and
turned round on Mr Fosset, his face blazing with passion.

"A ship in distress, a woman on board imploring our aid," he exclaimed
in keen, cold, cutting tones that pierced one like a knife, "and you
passed her by without rendering any assistance,--a foreigner too, of
all. We Englishmen, who pride ourselves on our humanity above all other
nations. What will they think of us?"

"I tell you, sir, we could not see any ship at all!" retorted the first
mate hotly, in reply to this reproach, which he felt as keenly as it was
uttered. "And if we couldn't see the ship, how could we know there was
a woman or anybody aboard?"

"Quite so," echoed Spokeshave, emphasising Mr Fosset's logical argument
in his own defence. "That's exactly what I say, sir."

"I would not have had it happen for worlds. We flying the old Union
jack, too, that boasts of never passing either friend or foe when in
danger and asking aid."

He spoke still more bitterly, as if he had not heard their excuses.

"But hang it, cap'en," cried Mr Fosset, "I tell you--"

Captain Applegarth waved him aside.

"Where did you last sight the ship, Haldane?" he said, turning round
abruptly to me. "How was she heading?"

"She bore about two points off our port quarter," I replied as
laconically. "I think, sir, she was running before the wind like
ourselves, though steering a little more to the southwards."

The skipper looked at the standard compass in front of the wheel-house
on the bridge, and then addressed the helmsman.

"How are we steering now, quartermaster? The same course as I set at
noon, eh?"

"Aye, aye, sir," replied Atkins, who still stood by the steam steering
gear singlehanded. If it had been the ordinary wheel, unaided by steam-
power, it would have required four men to move the rudder and keep the
vessel steady in such a sea as was now running. "We've kept her pretty
straight, sir, since eight bells on the same course, west by south, sir,
half south."

"Very good, quartermaster. Haldane, are you there?"

"Yes, sir," said I, stepping up to him again, having moved away into the
shadow under the lee of the wheel-