The bos’n pointed to the fast sinking ship, the bow end only of which was out of the water, and said, “There he is, sir!” And as we looked we saw big brave Captain Stacey and little heroic Perce with their right hands clasped and with the Captain’s left hand on Perce’s shoulder, just as two old friends might greet each other on Broadway or the Strand, who had not met for a long time. An instant later the great ship sank from sight leaving a momentary whirlpool, due to the suction of it, in the water. The _Arapahoe_ reached us an hour later and stood by and considering the heavy seaway and the wind, which though it had somewhat abated was still blowing half a gale, picked up the survivors and then proceeded on her way. The passengers made a good deal over me and, since I am only human, I should have enjoyed their worship immensely, but while I had done my duty I knew it was Perce who was the real hero and I told them so. CHAPTER IV--CATCHING SEALS BY WIRELESS What did I do when I got back, did you say? Well, after the sinking of the _Andalusian_ my folks thought I ought to be willing to give up the sea and confine my adventures to Montclair, the Lackawanna Railroad and New York, and they urged me to settle down and sell engines, or get into some other kind of business in the big town and commute like the rest of the suburbanites. I tried it for a few months but the air is dead on land and it stifles me like poison-gas when I breathe it, and besides, I kept hearing the call of the sea oftener and oftener and louder and louder just as though a spook mermaid were holding a conch shell to my ear. Well, sir, there were just no two ways about it. I was not cut out for a salesman but I could handle a key with the best of them. So one bright day--it was the first of March--when dad told me to go out and see a _prospect_ who wanted a 40 horsepower crude oil engine, I made one stone kill two sparrows and after fencing with the would-be buyer for half an hour I slipped over to the _Lord’s Court Building_ where the _Marconi Company_ had their offices and talked with my friend Sammis, the Chief Engineer. “No, there isn’t anything you’d want just now,” he reflected. “There’s a couple of new ships building in Belfast for the _Cunard Line_ and one of them will be launched in a couple of months. I might be able to get a berth for you on her.” “I want to go right now if I go at all,” I told him, for the land ached in my bones like the old Harry and I knew the only way I could get relief was to go to sea.