It should be understood that the _Osprey_, like most gunboats of her class, carried two large "whaleboats." These were kept ready for lowering quickly, when the ship was at sea. The one which happened to be on the lee side at any given time was the "lifeboat." There is always a "lifeboat's crew" on watch, while at sea, permanently detailed, all fully drilled in their duties. Staples's voice rang like a bugle-call throughout the ship and in an instant every man in the lifeboat crew was on his feet and racing for his station. "Steady, Quartermaster," commanded Rexdale. "Keep her as she is. You're heading straight for him." "Aye, aye, sir! East-north-east, sir!" responded the quartermaster. "I'll relieve you, Mr. Liddon," said Staples. "You go down and look out for the boat!" By this time the boat-crew were clambering into the lee whaleboat, led by Midshipman Starr, who had cleared the wardroom ladder in a flying leap at the first order from the bridge. Within sixty seconds from the call "Man the lifeboat!" the boat was ready for lowering. In the stern-sheets stood the coxswain, steering oar in hand, with every nerve alert and tense; the bow oarsman had cast off the end of the "sea painter," but kept a turn with it around the forward thwart. The other men were seated on the thwarts, two of them with boat-hooks, with which they were prepared to push the boat off from the ship's side while being lowered, as the _Osprey_ was rolling a little in a cross swell. Bob Starr was beside the coxswain, and awaited the command for lowering, as he tried to catch a glimpse of the drowning man in the sea far ahead. When the alarm was first given the _Osprey_ was making about ten knots an hour, which would call for six minutes to cover the intervening mile. Rexdale knew better than to slow up and lower his boat at once, thus increasing this time and the risk of losing the man. "Port a little more, Quartermaster!" ordered the captain. "Mr. Staples," he added, "whistle down to the engine-room and tell them to give us all the speed they can." After a brief colloquy through the tube the executive reported: "They can do a little better, sir, but not much. They were just starting to clean fires." Liddon, on the quarter-deck, now called out, "All ready the lifeboat, sir!" "Very well, Mr. Liddon," returned Staples. "Hold on all till I give you the order to lower." Four minutes went by, with only an occasional growl from Dave: "Port a little! steady, now! Starboard a little! Steer a steady course there at the wheel--you're yawing all round the compass! There you are! See if you can hold her steady at that!" The man in the water was now about two hundred yards away. "Stop both engines, Mr. Staples!" The executive, who was already standing with his hand on the lever of the port indicator, swung it sharply to "_Stop_," while the quartermaster, at the starboard indicator, did the same.