Under the Meteor Flag | Page 4

length heard faintly, and as though in a dream, a voice saying, "There they are! port, sir, hard!" and then all became an utter blank.
The first indication of returning consciousness was the sound of the surgeon's voice saying, "All right! he is coming to; and we shall save him yet."
"Thank God for that!" presently exclaimed another voice, which I recognised as the skipper's; "I would not have lost the lad for the worth of all that I possess. I never saw a more plucky thing in all my life; and, if he lives, he will grow up to be an ornament to the service."
At this point I opened my eyes, and found those of the speaker bent upon me with an expression of deep solicitude. I furthermore found that I had been stripped of my wet clothing, and was lying in the captain's own cot, with the doctor and one of the seamen rubbing my limbs and body so vigorously with their bare hands, in the endeavour to restore a brisk circulation, that I seemed to be in imminent danger of being flayed alive.
"How do you feel now, my boy?" inquired the skipper, as he bent over the side of the cot, and laid his hand kindly upon my own.
"Very much better, sir, thank you," I replied; though, to tell the truth, I was at that moment enduring the most acute pain in every nerve of my body--the physical suffering attendant upon the returning tide of life being actually much greater than that experienced while I was undergoing the process of drowning.
"That's right," returned he, in a cheery tone of voice; "I am glad to hear it, as every man in the ship will be. You have performed a right gallant action, and I am sure you will be glad to know that your efforts have not been in vain. The poor fellow whom you rescued is alive, and likely to do well."
I felt too weak to make any reply to this gratifying speech, a fact which the doctor instantly perceived, for he turned to the skipper and remarked, "With your permission, sir, we will now leave the lad in quiet to sleep off his exhaustion. I will just mix him a simple restorative, while your steward tucks him in and makes him comfortable for the night; after which I think we may safely leave the rest to nature, though, of course, I shall look in upon both of my patients from time to time, so as to make quite sure that they are going on all right."
If the worthy medico fulfilled his promise to "look in" upon me during the night--and I feel quite sure he did--I was blissfully unconscious of the fact, for under the soothing influence of the restorative draught, and the warmth of the blankets liberally heaped upon me by the captain's steward, I speedily sank into a deep, dreamless, refreshing slumber--a delicious oblivion--from which I awoke in the morning to find myself very little the worse for my exertions of the previous night.
When I opened my eyes I saw, through the open door of the state-room, that the sun was streaming brightly down through the skylight, lighting up the cosy little cabin, bringing out to the fullest advantage the flowing tints of three or four well-executed pictures, which were secured to the bulkheads, and altogether imparting a delightfully cheerful appearance to the apartment. The vessel, however, was in violent motion; I could, from my position in the cot, look out through the stern windows; and I saw that there was a heavy sea running, and the roar of the wind through the rigging, which was distinctly audible above the sound of creaking timbers, rattling doors, trampling feet, and the swish of heavy showers of spray upon the deck, told me it was blowing hard. I felt so greatly recovered, however, that I resolved to get up, and, springing out of the cot, I proceeded to dress myself with as much alacrity as the rolling and pitching of the ship would permit. While engaged in this occupation, the doctor entered the cabin.
"Hillo!" he exclaimed, "turning out, eh? Well done, young gentleman. Steady! you have not shipped your sea-legs yet, as our friend the first lieutenant would say; you must be cautious, or you will be thrown against something or other, and get a nasty knock. Well, and how do you feel this morning?"
"A trifle weak," I replied, "that's all. I dare say I shall be better when I have had breakfast."
"That's your sort," responded the jolly old medico; "if you are hungry, there is not much wrong with you; but you mentioned breakfast. Have you any notion what time it may happen to be?"
"Not much," I replied; "but I fear it is rather late."
"That depends upon