"Ah had just been tellt by ane o' the after gun's crew to get oot o' the wa' (they not bein' short o' hauns), whan this new craft hove inta sicht. At first it lookit like she wad cut thro' for'ard o' me, leavin' me ahint to drown in the wreck o' the stern. Then Ah thocht she was comin' richt at me, and Ah started crawlin' back to whaur Ah had come frae. But she keepit turnin' and turnin', so that she hit at last richt abaft the after gun. Ah fell a' in a heap at the shock, and, tho' Ah was a guid ten feet frae whaur her stem cut in, the bulge o' her crunched into the quarterdeck till she passed sae close that suthin' stickin' oot frae her side--it micht hae been the lip o' a mouldie-tube, Ah'm thinkin'--gae ma puir back a sair dig, and there Ah was amang the mess left o' the gun and its crew. Ah was near to bein' dragged owerboard after that T.B.D., and when she was gone Ah fund masel'--for the second time in ane night--hangin' ower the raggit edge o' a black hole listenin' to the swish o' ragin' waters. "And then, gin that and ma half-broken back werna enough for ony mon, Ah hear some ane shoutit that they thocht that last rammin' had done in the auld _Seagull_, and that the time wad soon come to 'bandon ship. "'_Seagull!_' says Ah; 'dinna ye ken this ship is the _Bow_?' Ah kind o' went groggy after that, and Ah have a sort o' dim remembrance that some ane flashit an 'lectric torch in ma face and said that Ah must have been pitchit ower whan the _Bow_ rammed the _Seagull_, and that Ah prob'ly hadna shaken doon to ma new surroundin's. Ah tried hard to speir what kind o' a shakin' doon they meant gin this hadna been ane. But Ah didna seem to have the power to mak' ma words come straicht, and they said, 'He's gane a bit off his chuck,' and ca'd some ane to carry me below. "The pains runnin' up and doon ma spine when Ah was lowered doon the ladder were ower much for me, and Ah passed off for a bit. Whan Ah cam roun' Ah was bein' shoved along the ward-room table--whaur Ah had been lyin'--to mak' room for a lad wi' bandages roun' his head and a' drippin' wi' salt water. His ship had gone doon twa hours syne, and maist o' the time he had been in the water or roostin' on a Carley Float. That lad's name was Gains, noo the gun-layer o' the fo'most gun o' the _Spark_--him Ah saw ye talkin' wi' just noo. He was strong and cheery himsel', but fower o' his mates were chilled to the bane, and Ah wacht 'em shiver to death richt afore ma een.