When we arrived home there were some changes made. Wait, who I have explained was my senior in command by a few days, was in port in the _American_, and there was then building on the Clyde the _Trojan_, to which it was necessary to appoint a master, to finally supervise her fitting out, and bring her round to Southampton.
One day Wait was ordered to go north--and I to the _American_, then Wait was ordered back to his old ship and I to the _Trojan_. This was rather a fortunate thing for me, as on the passage out, when on the line, the _American_ broke her screw shaft and sank. Fortunately all hands were saved, to the infinite credit of her captain and officers. Captain Hepworth, R.N.R., C.B., of the meteorological office, was then chief officer, and my old friend Jones of the _Basuto_ was the second. I came to hear of the accident in the following manner. I was in my lodgings one afternoon when the office messenger, Fancourt, came in with a face of great importance, “Captain Dixon’s compliments, and he would like to see you at once.” Those who have known Fancourt will realise the manner in which the message was delivered, for I really believe he thought he ran the Company, in the same manner that the limelight man dominates the stage. I went to the office of my chief, who paid me a great compliment or else was pulling my leg. The table was covered with charts, and he said, “The _American_ has sunk in lat. ---- long. ----. All hands saved in the boats. I want you to tell me where we should look to find these boats, for I conclude you know more about it than any of us.” As it happened I was wrong in my estimate, for the boats were picked up by ships, but the currents, both the Guinea and Equatorial, might have played a part in their destination. Some of the passengers had a second shipwreck in the vessel that picked them up and there were fatalities. I cannot quite remember how the news first reached home, but several details stood out rather prominently. One was that the theatre on the poop, where theatricals had taken place the preceding evening, was conspicuous as she sank, and also that the second officer had been seen getting the butcher’s water-tank into his lifeboat. That was typical of Jones, essentially a practical seaman. I asked him afterwards to tell me about it, and whether he had any trouble at all. “When I got down in the boat,” he said, “to get things in order I chucked out several bundles of things that were no use and took up room, one of which belonged to the cook, who resented my action. I just told him that if he said more I would see that he followed his bundle, and there was no more trouble.” It has always been a matter of congratulation to me that I escaped being in that business. Captain Wait was very justly highly complimented for his action, and his officers, too, received their meed of recognition.