The strange thing was that his father was nowhere to be seen, and even
the captain looked round and asked where John MacNicol was. At the
same moment a woman, all trembling, came forward and asked the mate if
they had got the man out.

'What man?' said he.

She said she had been standing by the paddle-box, and that one of the
sailors, the moment the accident had occurred, had opened the gangway
and jumped into the water, no doubt with the intention of rescuing the
boys. She had not seen him come up again, for just as he went down the
steamer backed.

At this news there was some little consternation. The mate called
aloud for John MacNicol; there was no answer. He ran to the other side
of the steamer; nothing was visible on the smooth water. They searched
everywhere, and the boat that had been lowered was pulled about, but
the search was in vain. The woman's story was the only explanation of
this strange disappearance; but the sailors suspected more than they
dared to suggest to the bewildered lads. They suspected that old
MacNicol had dropped into the water just before the paddles had made
their first backward revolution, and that in coming to the surface he
had been struck by one of the floats. They said nothing of this,
however; and as the search proved to be quite useless, the _Glenara_
steamed slowly onward to the quay.

It was not until the next afternoon that they recovered the body of old
MacNicol; and from certain appearances on the corpse, it was clear that
he had been struck down by the paddles in his effort to reach and help
his sons. That was a sad evening for Rob MacNicol. It was his first
introduction to the cruel facts of life. And amid his sorrow for the
loss of one who, in a sort of rough and reticent way, had been very
kind and even affectionate to him, Rob was vaguely aware that on
himself now rested the responsibility for the upbringing of his two
brothers and his cousin. He sat up late that night, long after the
others were asleep, thinking of what he should do. In the midst of
this silence the door was quietly opened, and Daft Sandy came into the
small room.

'What do ye want at this time o' night?' said Rob angrily, for he had
been startled.

The old, bent, half-witted man looked cautiously at the bed, in which
Neil lay fast asleep.

'Whisht, Rob, my man,' he said in a whisper; 'I waited till every one
in Erisaig was asleep. Ay, ay! it's a bad day this day for you. And