The Captain leant over the for'ard guard-rail of the lofty bridge. Beneath lurked two greatcoated figures sheltering under the lee side of the deckhouse from the driving spray.
"Bos'n's mate!" shouted Captain Staggles.
The shrill trills of the whistle brought the watch below surging on deck. Already by some mysterious means the news had spread along the lower deck. Taking into consideration the fact that the ship had been but newly commissioned, there was little fault to be found with the way in which the men responded to the call.
In the engine-room the staff had risen nobly to the Captain's request to "whack her up". Quickly speed was increased to twenty knots as the _Portchester Castle_ hastened on her errand of succour to the harassed Portuguese merchantman.
"I shouldn't be surprised if we are too late," remarked Captain Staggles. "That wireless will most certainly be picked up by the Portuguese destroyer flotilla patrolling the Tagus. They'll be on the spot before us, I fancy."
Lieutenant Osborne did not reply. He had good cause to think otherwise, but he kept his thoughts to himself. Nevertheless he was glad when the skipper expressed his intention of "carrying on" in the direction of the pursued tramp.
With daybreak came the sound of distant intermittent gun-fire. For five minutes the cannonade was maintained, and then an ominous silence. In addition the hitherto constant wireless appeals for aid ceased abruptly.
"They've got her, I'm afraid," remarked Webb to his chum and brother officer as the twain searched the horizon with their binoculars.
"Sail ahead, sir," reported the masthead man, who from his point of vantage could command a far greater distance than the officers on the bridge.
"Two points on the port bow, sir," was the prompt reply.
In anxious suspense officers and crew waited for the Portuguese vessel to come within range of vision. Quickly the daylight grew brighter. A slight mist that hung around in low, ill-defined patches began to lift. The sea, still high, rendered it difficult to locate a vessel at any considerable distance from the British auxiliary cruiser.
Presently Osborne went to the voice-tube communicating with the engine-room. His observant eye had noticed that the _Portchester Castle's_ funnels were throwing out considerable volumes of smoke. Since it was imperative that she should conceal her approach until the last possible moment, he requested the Engineer-lieutenant to exercise a little more care in the stokeholds. A minute or two later the black volumes of smoke gave place to a thin haze of bluish vapour.