"Lord love ye, me lads, he’s as fit as a fiddle and will live to laugh at ye in yer old age," replied Dorlan, cheerfully, and it was with a mutual sigh of relief they heard the announcement. A messenger approaching at this moment, called to the boys: "The Officer of the Deck says, seeing your friend’s all right, that you are to follow me to the Junior Officers’ Quarters, where you can get a bath and your clothes will be dried out for you." "We’d like to see our friend first, if we might," suggested Dick. "The little lad’s asleep and old ’Saw Bones’ wouldn’t let ye in to disturb him for love nor money. Go ahead and get policed up," suggested the sergeant, turning aft towards the marines’ compartment as he spoke. "We do not know your name, Sergeant," spoke up Gordon, placing a detaining hand on the marine’s arm, "but we all want to thank you for saving Tommy Turner’s life. It was just too fine for words, and I for one should like to shake hands with you." "It’s all in the day’s wurruk, me lad," said Dorlan, confused by this frank praise, "but it’s happy I am to shake the hands of such plucky lads as ye are yersel’s, so put her there," and he extended a brown horny hand which they all grasped simultaneously. "When ye git all fixed up and dhried out, come on back here and it’s proud I’ll be to show ye about the old tub," with which remark he left them at liberty to follow the Officer of the Deck’s messenger to the Junior Officers’ Quarters. Divesting themselves of their soaked garments on arrival there they were supplied with soap, towels and bath robes and were soon enjoying the bath. With spirits no longer depressed for fear of danger to their friend, the four lads were now beginning thoroughly to enjoy their novel experience. "Which fellow said he wished he could visit a man-of-war?" questioned Donald from the confines of a little enclosure where the sound of splashing water announced he was already under the shower. "It was the Sphinx," laughingly answered Gordon from his own particular cubby hole. "I didn’t want to come on board in quite the manner I did, though," called out Robert, "and furthermore, don’t call me Sphinx in the future. If I’d had the sense of that old hunk of stone, I could have foreseen the danger and been able to avoid it." "Hurry up, you fellows, and don’t talk so much. Let me have a whack at one of those showers," called Dick, who had been forced to wait, there being not enough bathing places to allow all to indulge at the same time. "I want to hurry out of this and take a look around this ship before I go ashore." "Speaking of leaving," remarked Gordon as he emerged for a rub down, "how do you suppose we are going to leave?" "To tell the truth, I hadn’t thought of that," Dick replied, "and how about your boat? It’s all smashed up." "She was about ready for the junk pile, anyway," said Gordon, "and I was going to give her to the boat club before I left for Annapolis next week."