one, it left the poor
fellow far away behind. And heavy as the sea was, they were lowering a
boat when I got on deck, and the captain had called for volunteers among
the sailors to man it."

"Oh, I hope he got them!"

"I hope you won't insult a noble and gallant profession by having any
doubt about it, Maggie. He might have had the ship's crew bodily if he
had wanted them, and if the waves had run twice as high."

"Spare me!" said Mamma.

"As it was the few men needed were soon ready. The boat was launched
without being upset, and the men got in without mishap. Then they laid
themselves to their oars, we gave them a parting cheer, and they
vanished from our sight."

"_Drowned_, Cousin Peregrine?"

"No, no. Though I can tell you we were as anxious for them as for
Giovanni now. But when they had crossed the first water-mountains, and
gone down into the water-valleys beyond, they were quite out of sight of
the crowd on the deck of the ship, daylight though it was."

"I retract everything I ever said," cried Mamma impetuously.

"And not only could we not see them, but they could not see the man they
were risking their lives to save. Those crested mountains which hid them
from us hid him from them."

"What _did_ you do?"

"Men were sent up the masts to look out from such a height that they
could look over the waves. _They_ could see both Giovanni and the boat,
and as they were so high up the men in the boat could see them. So the
men on the masts kept their eyes on Giovanni, and the men in the boat
kept their eyes on the men on the masts, and steered their course
according to the signals from the look-out."

"And they saved him?"

"Yes, they brought him back; and if we cheered when they went away, you
may believe we cheered when they got safe to the ship's side again."

"And who was Giovanni? and did he get all right?"

"Giovanni was one of the sailors, an Italian. He was a fine young
fellow, and appeared to think nothing whatever of his adventure. I
remember he resolutely refused to go below and change his clothes till
he had helped to haul up the boat. With his white teeth shining through
a broad grin, he told us in his broken English that he had been
overboard every voyage he had taken. He said he didn't mind anything
except the swooping and pecking of the albatross. They obliged him to
dive so constantly, to keep his eyes from their beaks."

"Was it a comber washed him overboard?"

"No. He was mendin