Good gracious! if the men of my regiment were to see me now!" The signal was given, the rope tightened, and the major uttered a low cry as he was sharply lifted off his feet, and before he could check himself surely enough he began to turn slowly round and round as if he were being roasted.
Left alone now, Mr Gregory waited patiently till the rope came down again, when he caught it and secured it round his waist, after which he went to the bows of the gig, took the painter, and by pressing the stern of the ship managed to draw the prow close up to the hull, and then after a little search he discovered a ring-bolt upon the rudder-post, to which he drew the boat, running the painter right through and making it fast, so that the little vessel was well out of sight, unless seen by the crews of one of the praus.
This done he went to the stern, tightened the rope, and found that if he swung off he would go into the sea with a splash, an act sufficiently noisy to arouse the watch presumably set on deck.
This was out of the question, and he was about to lower himself into the water when the thought occurred to him to feel about the boat as to whether anything had been left; and it proved to be as well that he did, for beneath one of the thwarts his hand came in contact with a bag which proved to contain the ammunition and one of the revolvers.
Gregory secured the bag to his neck, hoping and believing that he would be able to keep it dry; and now, taking well hold of the rope, he let himself glide down over the side of the boat into the deep water, hanging suspended till the men above began to haul and without leaving him to climb, he was drawn up to the window and helped in, to stand dripping on the floor, and far more concerned about the contents of the bag than his own state..