This time there could be no doubt about it; the answering hail came distinctly enough, and immediately afterwards--so close was the brig to them--he saw first one head, then another, and another, appear in the eyes of the vessel, peering over the bows. Quick as light, and treading water meanwhile, he whipped the white pocket-handkerchief out of the breast-pocket of his coat and waved it eagerly over his head. The people in the bows of the brig stared incredulously for a moment; then with a sudden simultaneous flinging aloft of their arms they abruptly vanished.

"All right," e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Leslie, in tones of profound relief, "they have seen us, and your deliverance, Miss Trevor, is now a matter of but a few brief minutes!"

"Oh, thank G.o.d; thank G.o.d!" cried the girl, brokenly; and then, all in a moment, the tension of her nerves suddenly giving way, she broke down utterly, and burst into a perfect pa.s.sion of tears. Leslie had sense enough to recognise that this hysterical outburst would probably relieve his companion's sorely overwrought feelings, and do her good; he therefore allowed her to have her cry out in peace, without making any attempt to check her.

She was still sobbing convulsively when Leslie, who never took his eyes off the slowly approaching brig, saw five people suddenly appear in the vessel's bows, three of them pointing eagerly, while the other two peered out ahead under the sharp of their hands.

"Brig ahoy!" hailed Leslie; "back your main-yard, will you, and stand by to heave us a couple of rope's ends when we come alongside?"

"Ay, ay," promptly came the answer from the brig. The men in the bows again vanished; and, as they did so, the same voice that had just answered pealed out, "Let go the port main braces; main tack and sheet; back the main-yard! And then some of you stand by to drop a line or two, with a standing bowline in their ends, to those people in the water."

The main-yard swung slowly aback, the canvas on the mainmast pressed against the mast, still further r.e.t.a.r.ding the vessel's sluggish movement; and as she drifted almost imperceptibly up to them, a few strokes of Leslie's arms took the pair alongside, where some half a dozen rope's ends, with loops in them, already dangled in the water.

With a deft movement, Leslie seized and dropped one of them over his head and under his armpits; then, taking Miss Trevor about the waist, he gave the word "Hoist away, handsomely," and four men, standing on the brig's rail, dragged them up the vessel's low side, and a.s.sisted them to gain the deck.

The vessel, on board which they now found themselves, was a small craft compared with the _Golden Fleece_, measuring, as Leslie had already guessed, about two hundred and thirty tons register. That she was British the language of her crew had already told him; and he was thankful that it was so, for he might now reasonably hope for courteous treatment of himself and his companion--which is not always to be reckoned upon with certainty, under such circ.u.mstances, if the craft happens to be manned by foreigners. The vessel, moreover, appeared to be tolerably clean; while the crew seemed to be a fairly decent lot of men.

As he gained the deck, a tall, dark, rather handsome man--but with an expression of countenance that Leslie hardly liked--stepped forward. He was clad entirely in white, and was clearly the master of the brig.

"Good morning," he said, without offering his hand, or uttering any word of welcome. "Where the devil do you come from?"

"We are," answered Leslie, "survivors--the only two, I am afraid--of the pa.s.senger ship _Golden Fleece_, bound to Melbourne, which was run into and sunk by an unknown steamer last night about eleven o'clock, during a dense fog. My name is Leslie; I was one of the cuddy pa.s.sengers; and this lady--who was likewise a cuddy pa.s.senger--is Miss Trevor."

The man's rather saturnine features relaxed as he gazed with undisguised admiration at the lovely girl, wet and bedraggled though she was; and, stepping up to her, he held out his hand, saying--

"Your most obedient, miss. Glad to see you aboard my ship. My name's Potter--James Potter; and this brig's the _Mermaid_, of London, bound out to Valparaiso with a general cargo. And this," he added, directing the girl's attention toward a slight, active-looking man who stood beside him, "is my only mate, Mr Purchas."

Miss Trevor bowed slightly, first to one and then to the other of the two men, as these introductions were made; then, turning once more to Potter, she thanked him earnestly and heartily for having picked up herself and her companion, and stood waiting irresolutely for what was next to happen.

"Oh, that's all right, miss; you're very welcome, I'm sure. Glad to have the chance of doing a service to such a beauty as you are." Then, turning abruptly about, he shouted, "Swing the main-yard, and fill upon her. Board the main tack, and aft with the sheet. Lively now, you s...o...b..nks; and don't stand staring there like stuck pigs!"

The men hurried away to execute these elegantly embellished orders. And Leslie, who had stood impatiently by, with a slowly gathering frown corrugating his brow, stepped forward and said--

"I hope, Mr Potter, that our presence on board your brig is not going to subject you to inconvenience. And I hope, further, that we shall not need to tax your hospitality for very long. Sooner or later we are pretty certain to fall in with a homeward-bound ship, in which case I will ask you to have the goodness to transfer Miss Trevor and myself to her, as Valparaiso is quite out of our way, and we have no wish to visit the place. Meanwhile, we have been in the water for somewhere about twelve hours, and Miss Trevor is in a dreadfully exhausted condition, as you may see for yourself. If you could kindly arrange for her to turn in for a few hours, you could do her no greater service for the present.

And to be quite candid, I should not be sorry if you could spare me a corner in which to stretch myself while my clothes are drying."

The skipper turned upon Leslie rather sharply and scowlingly.

"Look here, mister," he said, "don't you worry about the young lady, I'll look after her myself. She shall have the use of my cabin. The bunk's made up, and everything is quite ready for her at a minute's notice. You come with me, miss," he continued; "I'll take you below and show you your quarters. You can turn in at once, and when you've rested enough I'll have a good meal cooked and ready for you. This way, please."

And therewith, offering his arm to the girl, he led her aft toward the companion, without vouchsafing another word to Leslie. As for the girl, she was by this time so nearly in a state of collapse that she could do nothing but pa.s.sively accept the a.s.sistance offered her, and submit to be led away below.

"Queer chap, rather, the skipper; ain't he?" remarked the mate, coming to Leslie's side as Potter and Miss Trevor vanished down the companion-way, "This is my first voyage with him, and, between you and me and the lamp-post, it'll be the last, if things don't greatly improve between now and our getting back to London. I reckon you'll be all the better for a snooze, too, so come below with me. You can use my cabin for the present, until the 'old man' makes other arrangements."

"Very many thanks," answered Leslie; "I shall be more than glad to avail myself of your kind offer. Before I do so, however, I wish to say that somewhere over there," pointing out over the lee bow, "about three miles away, there is some floating wreckage from the _Golden Fleece_, and, although I think it rather doubtful, there _may_ be a few people clinging to it. I hope you will represent this to Mr Potter, and induce him to run down and examine the spot. It will not take him much off his course; and if the fellow has any humanity at all in him he will surely not neglect the opportunity to save possibly a few more lives."

"All right," said Purchas, "I'll tell him when he comes on deck again.

Now you come away below and turn in."

Therewith the mate conducted Leslie down into a small, dark, and rather frowsy stateroom at the foot of the companion ladder, and outside the brig's main cabin; and having said a few awkward but hearty words of hospitality in reply to the other's expressions of thanks, closed the door upon him and left him to himself.

Five minutes later, Leslie was stretched warm and comfortable in the bunk, wrapped in sound and dreamless sleep.

CHAPTER THREE.

CAPTAIN POTTER CAUSES TROUBLE.

When Leslie awoke the warm and mellow glow of the light that streamed in through the small scuttle in the ship's side prepared him for the discovery that he had slept until late in the afternoon; and as he lay there reflecting upon the startling events of the previous twenty-four hours the sound of eight bells being struck on deck confirmed his surmise by conveying to him the information that it was just four o'clock. He raised himself in the bunk, striking his head smartly against the low deck-planking above him as he did so. He looked for his clothes where he had flung them off before turning in, but they were not there; casting his eyes about the little apartment, however, he presently recognised them hanging, dry, upon a hook screwed to the bulkhead. Thereupon he dropped out of the bunk, and proceeded forthwith to dress, noting, as he did so, by the slow, gentle oscillations of the brig, that the sea had gone down to practically nothing while he slept, while the occasional flutter and flap of canvas, heard quite distinctly where he was, told him that the wind had dropped to a calm.

Dressing quickly, he hurried on deck, wondering whether he would find Miss Trevor there. She was not; but the skipper and mate were both in evidence, standing, one on either side of the companion; neither of them speaking. The sky was cloudless; the wind had dropped to a dead calm; the surface of the sea was oil-smooth, but a low swell still undulated up from the south-east quarter. The ship had swung nearly east and west; and the sun's beams, pouring in over the starboard quarter, bit fiercely, although the luminary was by this time declining well toward the horizon.

"Well, mister, had a good sleep?" inquired the skipper, with some attempt to infuse geniality into his voice.

"Excellent, thank you," answered Leslie, as with a quick glance he swept the entire deck of the brig. "Miss Trevor is still in her cabin, I take it, as I do not see her on deck. She has had a most trying and exhausting experience, and I hope, sir, you will afford her all the comfort at your command; otherwise she may suffer a serious breakdown.

Fortunately, I am not without funds; and I can make it quite worth your while to treat us both well during the short time that I hope will only elapse ere you have an opportunity to trans-ship us."

"Is Miss Trevor any relation of yours?" asked Potter, his tone once more a.s.suming a suggestion of aggressiveness.

"She is not, sir," answered Leslie, showing some surprise at the question. "She was simply a fellow-pa.s.senger of mine on board the _Golden Fleece_; and it was by the merest accident that we became companions, after the ship went down. Had you any particular object in making the inquiry, may I ask?"

"Oh no," answered Potter; "I just thought she might be related to you in some way; you seem to be pretty anxious about her welfare; that's all."

"And very naturally, I think, taking into consideration the fact that I have most a.s.suredly saved her life," retorted Leslie. "Having done so much, I feel it inc.u.mbent upon me to take her under my care and protection until I can find a means of putting her into the way of returning to England, or of resuming her voyage to Australia--whichever she may prefer."

"Very kind and disinterested of you, I'm sure," remarked Potter, sneeringly. "But if she's no relation of yours there's no call for you to worry any more about her; she's aboard my ship, now; and _I'll_ look after her in future, and do whatever may be necessary. As for _you_, I'll trans-ship you, the first chance I get; never fear."

The fellow's tone was so gratuitously offensive that Leslie determined to come to an understanding with him at once.

"Captain Potter," he said, turning sharply upon the man, "your manner leads me to fear that the presence of Miss Trevor and myself on board your ship is disagreeable or inconvenient--or perhaps both--to you. If so, I can only say, on behalf of the young lady and myself, that we are very sorry; although our sorrow is not nearly profound enough to drive us over the side again; we shall remain aboard here until something else comes along to relieve you of our unwelcome presence; then we will go, let the craft be what she will, and bound where she may. And, meanwhile, so long as we are with you, I will pay you two pounds a day for our board and accommodation, which I think ought to compensate you adequately for any inconvenience or annoyance that we may cause you.

And Miss Trevor will continue to be under my care; make no mistake about that!"

The offer of two pounds per diem for the board and lodging of two people produced an immediate soothing and mollifying effect upon the skipper's curious temper; he made an obvious effort to infuse his rather truculent-looking features with an amiable expression, and replied, in tones of somewhat forced geniality--

"Oh, all right, mister; I'm not going to quarrel with you. You and the lady are quite welcome aboard here; and I'll do what I can to make you both comfortable; though, with our limited accommodation, I don't quite see, just at this minute, how it's going to be done. The lady can have my cabin, and I'll take Purchas's; you, Purchas," turning to the mate, "can have the steward's berth, and he'll have to go into the fo'c's'le.

That can be managed easy enough; the question is, Where are we going to put you, mister?"

"Leslie," quickly interjected the individual addressed, who was already beginning to feel very tired of being called simply "mister."

"Mr Leslie--thank you," e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed the skipper giving Leslie his name for the first time, in sheer confusion and astonishment at being so promptly pulled up. "As I was saying, the question is, Where can we put you? We haven't a spare berth in the ship."

"Pray do not distress yourself about that," exclaimed Leslie; "any place will do for me. I am a sailor by profession, and have roughed it before to-day. The weather is quite warm; I can therefore turn in upon your cabin lockers at night if you can think of no better place in which to stow me."

"Oh, the cabin lockers be--" began Potter; then he pulled himself up short. "No," he resumed, "I couldn't think of you sleeping on the lockers; they're that hard and uncomfortable you'd never be able to get a bit of real rest on 'em; to say nothing of Purchas or me coming in, off and on, during the night to look at the clock, or the barometer, or what not, and disturbing you. Besides, you'd be in our way there. No, that won't do; that won't do at all. I'll be shot if I can see any way out of it but to make you up a shakedown in the longboat. She's got nothing in her except her own gear--which we can clear out. The jolly-boat is turned over on top of her, making a capital roof to your house, so that you'll sleep dry and comfortable. Why, she'll make a first-rate cabin for ye, and you'll have her all to yourself. There's some boards on the top of the galley that we can lay fore and aft on the boat's thwarts, and there's plenty of sails in the sail locker to make ye a bed. Why," he exclaimed, in admiration of his own ingenuity, "when all's done you'll have the most comfortable cabin in the ship! Dashed if I wouldn't take it myself if it wasn't for the look it would have with the men. But that argument don't apply to you, mister."

"Leslie," cut in the latter once more, detecting, as he believed, an attempt on the part of the skipper to revert to his original objectionable style of address.

"Yes, Leslie--thanks. I think I've got the hang of your name now,"