There was nothing to do, that was the worst of it. Mr. Parker orders us all below, ’cept ’imself and the Sub-lootenant and the quarter-master, whose watch it was, so I just made them all eat a bit of something we ’ad left over from our suppers, and we got some pickles and sardines out o’ the canteen, and felt better; but, bless you! we couldn’t sleep, what with the encitement and the noise of them breakers, which we could ’ear even more loudly down below, for it seemed to come right up through her bottom. We’d got a good deal of sea-water down below, too—took it in when we were punching into those ’ead seas outside ’Ong-kong—and that fo’c’stle mess-deck war’n’t the most comfortable place that night; and, as no one could catch a blessed wink of sleep, I just told the men to light their pipes, which was mighty comforting, though, by the way, ’twas strictly agin’ orders, an’ I got a wiggin’ from Mr. Parker arfterwards for doing it. Then I ’eard that there Cooky a-jawing to some of the youngsters about "’oping they was all prepared to die sudden-like, if so it was necessary and they got the call". So I told ’im to let ’em go to sleep, and do ’is own dooty first and get ’em some ’ot ship’s cocoa. "’Ow can I make bricks without straw," said he, sad-like, and he had the pull of me on that, for, in course, the galley fire had been drawn. I had the middle watch that night, from midnight to four in the morning, as you’d call it on shore, and nothing ’appened for the first two hours, ’cept that Mr. Parker and myself took it in turns to peer through the night-glass towards where we knew the island was, and stamped up and down to keep ourselves warm, for the night was most partickler cold, an’ once or twice we had to move the engines to keep her from getting too close to them rocks. Then the fun began. It was still as black as ink, you must remember, and we was supposed to be lying just off the narrow channel which zigzagged between the rocks into the big anchorage inside the island, we being on one side and "No. 2" on the other, though we could not see her, and could only guess she was there. "If their torpedo-boats or destroyers do come out," said Mr. Parker, "they could no more find the _Laird_ on a night like this than a needle in a ’aystack, so we can do just what we like—follow ’em and try and sink ’em in the dark, or wait till they come back in the morning and cut ’em off then." Well, we was watching and blinking like owls through the glasses, when suddenly, down by the water edge, out blinked two little white lights, some distance apart they were, and steady as anything. "They’re lighting the channel," Mr. Parker said ’urriedly; "something will be coming out directly. Get the men on deck." They scrambled up in no time, and by the time I’d got back to the bridge the engines were working us round with our bows pointing out to sea.