"That chap was nearly caught, Benjie," said Dennis.
"Very nearly caught indeed. I hope nothing has happened to her beyond what we saw--beyond the loss of her boats and sails, and foretopgallantmast--she laboured so dreadfully before they could get her before the wind--what a state the poor women on board must have been in!"
"Terrible," said Donovan. "Bad enough for the men, but how I do pity tender women in such a predicament!"--and here he heaved a sigh that would have blown a candle out--"But you must have lost your heart, Brail, aboard there; you are so awfully sentimental since you returned. Come, now, describe the beauties of the fair creatures--give me as good a notion of them as you can--that's a good boy."
"Why, Donovan, they were both, I mean the ladies, as _unlike_ Miss Cathleen, the affianced wife of a certain lieutenant of the navy, the son of widow Donovan, who lives at 1060, Sackville Street, as you can well imagine."--
Dennis laughed.--"Why, you have me there, Benjie. sure enough, so"----
Here Lennox interrupted him, as he hastily entered the small cabin. "The ship has made a signal of distress, sir."
"The devil she has!" We both jumped up the ladder as quick as we could. The frigate was steering large, about a mile on our lee-bow. All was right and snug with her; but the ship, that lay about half a mile abeam of us to windward, had her ensign flying at the mizen-peak, with the union down; and the signal for a boat flying at the head of the foretopmast.
To send her assistance before the sea went down was utterly impossible; no boat could have lived for a minute; so that all we could do was to haul by the wind, and close under her lee quarter. It was still blowing so fresh, that when the master hailed I could not hear him; but as she lay over, we could see that both pumps were manned, and the gush of _clear_ water from the scuppers was a sad indication of what had befallen. I could distinguish the two young missionaries, in their trowsers and shirts, labouring most vigorously amongst the crew; while the patriarchal old man was holding on by the mizen-rigging, close to the master; evidently keeping his footing on the deck of the tumbling vessel with great difficulty. Seeing me on deck, he took off his hat, which was instantly blown overboard, and his long grey hairs streamed straight out in the wind. This to me was a moving incident, simple as it may appear to others, and it seemed to affect Donovan also.