mate and the boatswain
had mustered the last of the crew and the roll had been called. All were
on hand who were not in the small boats.

After the soldiers and the hospital men had gone down into boats, and
other small craft had moved in to replace them, the crew went over, the
chief mate being the last to go except the trio who stood in the middle
of the upper deck.

"There's a boat left with room for all of you!" the mate called, lifting
his hat.

With a last swift look around at the ship he had loved, the Briton almost
reluctantly followed the Darrins. His legs trembled under him a bit as he
descended the steps of the side companionway, but it was from neither
exhaustion nor fear.

Last of all the Briton took his seat in the row-boat. He tried to clear
his throat and give the order, but could not speak.

"Shove off!" called Dave to the boat-tenders, as he faced the men sitting
with their oars out. "Give way! One, two, one two!"

The boat belonged to one of the mine-sweepers. With true British
precision and rhythm the men pulled away. Darrin ceased counting and
turned to his smiling wife.

"Not such a bad time, was it?" he asked.

"As it turned out, no. But I was afraid, Dave. Had a few hundred of the
brave fellows been drowned, the horror would not have left me as long as
I lived."

"Then you must steel your nerves a bit, Belle, dear. War, at the least,
is a grewsome thing, but this war contains more horrors than any other
war of which man has knowledge. The vast numbers engaged make it certain
that the losses will be heavy, and heavier, until the struggle is over.
If you work up near the front, within range of the big guns, you will
necessarily have to become accustomed to seeing the visible evidence of
huge losses daily."

"I shall grow to it," Belle Darrin declared, confidently.

And now Captain Senby was speaking to him.

"It's a great load off my mind, Captain Darrin. I was the merchant marine
master of the 'Gloucester,' but she was taken and refitted so quickly
that we were sent to sea without change of status. On our return from
this voyage the mates and I had orders to take examination for
commissions in the naval reserves. Then we were to continue aboard the
'Gloucester.' But she will be at the bottom in an hour and my chances of
making the naval reserves will go down with her."

"I don't see why," Dave returned, heartily. "You and your mates are no
less capable than you were."

Then, in