the right page of the signal book. "Yes, sir,
you're quite right, as usual! I wish I had your memory for signals! He
`wants to communicate.' Signalman, hoist our answering pen'ant!"

At this order, the red-and-white barred pennant, which had long since
been bent ready to the signal halliards, was run up to our main truck.

From this point of vantage, it flew out fair above all our sails and
tophamper, visible all round the compass and telling the French
corvette, still curvetting and prancing abreast of us and showing her
bright copper sheathing as she rolled, that we had at last made out her
signal and were waiting to learn what she had to say.

"I hope it's really important," said Captain Farmer to the commander;
while Larkyns and the head signalman kept their glasses fixed on the
opposite ship, ready to take in her next signal. "International
courtesies are all very well in their way, but I don't like being
stopped for a mere exchange of bunting and that sort of balderdash,
Nesbitt."

"Nor I, sir," agreed the commander. "Ha, they're sending up another
hoist now, and we'll soon know all about it. What's that now,
signalman?"

"`B L K,' sir," replied the yeoman of signals and Larkyns in one breath;
and the former, running his fingers over the pages of the signal book,
which Commander Nesbitt had returned to his custody, soon found that the
interpretation of the flags thus clustered was, "We have passed a wreck,
but were unable to stand by to see if any survivors were aboard her."

"Oh!" exclaimed the captain on this being read out aloud, as the
signalman put it down on the slate for entry into the ship's log,
according to the usual custom. "This is getting interesting. Hoist `Q
R S' after the answering pen'ant."

"I say, Larkyns," I asked, in an undertone of my friend the senior mid,
as a string of square flags went up on our side--a yellow on top, a red
square with a yellow cross in the middle, and a white flag with a blue
centre the lowermost--"what does our signal mean, eh?"

"It means," he whispered back, keeping his starboard eye still glued to
his telescope, "`whereabouts is that wreck you're speaking of?'"

Some considerable delay now occurred on board the corvette; the
Frenchies, in spite of their taking the initiative in the matter, being
not as handy as our man in the manipulation of their flags.

At last, however, they sent up two hoists in rather a slovenly fashion,
one going up after t