eneath the bridge. A great
rope rose out of the water as the men at the winch hauled up the clumsy
hulk. Two or three others, dragging a thin, stiff wire rope, floundered
unsteadily across the deck.

"They look rough, and they're not very sober," Barbara remarked.

Lister laughed. "They're frankly drunk! A pretty hard crowd, but Brown
and I have handled a hard crowd before. In fact, I reckon Cartwright has
got the proper men for the job."

"Captain Brown is like them," said Barbara, thoughtfully. "You are not."

"You haven't seen me hustling round when things go wrong."

"I saw you throw a man out of the engine-room not long since!"

"With a gang like ours, one must prove one's claim to be boss at the
start. Anyhow, there are different kinds of wastrels, and the fellow who
gets on a jag at intervals is often a pretty good sort. The wastrel one
has no use for is the fellow who keeps it up. But I see Mr. Cartwright
coming and mustn't philosophize."

A gateman on the pierhead began to shout to the captain, and Cartwright
gave Lister his hand.

"They are waiting for you and we must get ashore," he said. "Well, I've
given you and Brown a big job, but I expect you'll see me out."

"We'll put in all we've got, sir," said Lister quietly.

Cartwright nodded, as if he were satisfied, and touched Barbara, who
turned and gave Lister a smile.

"Good luck!" she said, and following Cartwright, went up the steps in
the wall.

She thought it significant Cartwright had left her for some time and had
given Lister a quick, searching glance. Lister had said nothing about
their talk and his promise; she had known he would not do so. Yet this
was not because he was clever. He had a sort of instinctive
fastidiousness. She liked his reply to Cartwright; he _would_ put in all
he had got, and a man like that had much. Fine courage, resolution and
staunch loyalty.

When Barbara reached the pierhead, _Terrier's_ engines began to throb.
The propeller churned the green water, and the tug bumped against the
wall. Gatemen shouted, the big tow-rope splashed and tightened with a
jerk, and the hulk began to move. Then the tug's bow crept round the
corner and swung off from the gates. The engine throbbed faster, and a
blast of the whistle echoed about the warehouses. Brown waved his cap
and signed to a man in the pilot-house. The hulk swung round in a wide
sweep, and the adventurous voyage had begun.

_Terrier_, steaming across the strong