The Young Rajah | Page 4

he would keep
afloat. A couple of chairs and a hen-coop had been hove to him, but not
till he had been left some way astern. Reginald, on hearing the cry, ran
aft, and without waiting to take off even his hat, lowered himself into
the water and struck out towards the wellnigh drowning lad. It was
evening, and darkness was rapidly coming on. Intense was the
excitement of all on board. Violet Ross did not exhibit her feelings, as
some of the other ladies did, by shrieking and crying out, but she was
seen standing on the poop, her gaze fixed on the two young swimmers.
Running at the rate the ship was going, they were soon lost to sight; for
though the crew were under good discipline, it was not to be expected
that sail could be shortened as rapidly as on board a man-of-war.
Opinions of all sorts were being hazarded. Some gave them up for lost,
declaring that the best of swimmers could not keep afloat in such a sea.
"The young fellow may drown, for what I care," muttered Captain
Hawkesford, as he turned forward, away from the rest of the lookers-on.
The captain and officers were too busy to answer the questions put to
them on the subject.
At length the ship was hove-to, and a boat with the first mate and a
crew of volunteers was lowered. Away she pulled in the direction in
which the swimmers had been last seen, the thick gathering gloom and
the foaming seas surrounding her, and quickly hiding her from sight.
The excitement on board was intense, even the captain could scarcely
retain his composure. It would have been great had Jack Andrews, the
lad who had fallen overboard, been alone; but young Hamerton had
excited the interest of all, and even the stern old brigadier declared that

he would be ready to give up all the loot he had bagged at the taking of
Mooltan for the sake of recovering the lad; and those who knew the old
soldier best, were aware that his feelings must have been highly excited
to induce him to say so. Poor little Violet! Her father could not fail to
remark her agitation, but believed that she would have felt the same if
any other among her fellow-creatures had been placed in the fearful
peril to which young Hamerton was exposed.
The moments seemed minutes, the minutes hours, as those on board
watched anxiously for the return of the boat. At length the captain
began to fear for her safety, as well as for that of the swimmers.
"Silence on deck," he cried. "Does any one see her?"
No reply was made. The ship had for some time been hove-to. The
wind whistled through her rigging, and the seas washed up her sides as
she surged slowly forward.
"Burn a blue light, Mr Timmins," he shouted to the boatswain, who had
got one all ready; and as the bright fire burst forth it cast a lurid glare
on the masts and rigging, and the countenances of the lookers-on,
giving them the hue of death.
Colonel Ross, forgetting for a moment the effect always produced by
the light, thought that his daughter was going off into a swoon. But her
trembling voice reassured him.
"I am thankful to see that signal," she observed. "It will surely enable
them to find their way to the ship."
"I hope that they will bring back our young friend, and the lad he has so
gallantly hazarded his own life to save," said the colonel; "but the
difficulty of finding them in the dark must be very great, unless they
retain strength sufficient to make their position known by their voices."
"They will come! They will come!" exclaimed Violet. "Oh, father, it is
very dreadful!" She could say no more.

The time went on. More blue lights were burned. Again and again the
captain shouted, "Does any one see the boat?"
At length a seaman exclaimed, "There she is! There she is!" and others
declared that they saw her. A cheer arose, joined in by most on board,
but it was silenced by the captain. He now himself observed the boat
approaching slowly, tossing up and down on the heaving seas. Oh, the
horrible suspense to be endured till it could be got alongside, for it was
impossible to see who was in her!
"Have you got them safe?" asked the captain, unable longer to restrain
his anxiety. No answer came. Possibly the dashing of the seas drowned
his voice. The boat came nearer and nearer, and willing hands stood
ready to lift on board those she brought back. On she came. The oars
were thrown in. The bowman caught the rope hove to him. Eager faces
peered