Page:Guy Boothby - The Beautiful White Devil.djvu/206

 For some time we could not see anything; then a small black speck made it appearance about two points off our starboard bow and gradually grew plainer.

"Keep her as she goes," said Alie to the man at the wheel, while we strained our eyes towards the tiny dot.

Little by little it became more distinct until we were sufficiently near to make out with a glass that it was a man-of-war's gig pulled by two men and containing three others. Ten minutes later the yacht was hove to, And Patterson clambered on to the rail of the bulwarks.

"Are you strong enough to bring her alongside, do you think?" he bellowed, "or shall we send a boat to tow you?"

The man steering, who was evidently an officer, funnelled his mouth with his hands and shouted back that they thought they could manage it. Then, as if to prove his words, the men who had been rowing, but had now stopped, resumed their monotonous labour. Bit by bit the tiny craft crept over the oily surface towards us until she was close enough for us to see with our naked eyes all that she contained.

As she came alongside, our gangway was lowered, and within an hour from the time of our first sighting her the boat's crew stood upon our deck. In spite of their man-of-war dress, a more miserable, woe-begone appearance could not have been imagined than the party presented. It consisted of one lieutenant, a midshipman, and three able seamen, and out of curiosity I glanced at the cap of the man standing nearest me. It bore the name H. M. S. Asiatic. Then I looked round for Alie, only to discover that she had mysteriously disappeared. It was left for Patterson to welcome the