us to take off the seven and add 'em
to our own." He took measures to meet the emergency, and then followed
this little incident:

Aboard the 396 they were busy trying to find space for their 307
passengers when a lookout heard a Putt! putt! putt! coming over the
water. The officer of the deck listened. Everybody on the bridge
listened. Putt! putt! putt! it came. The officer of the deck reported to
the skipper. The skipper wondered who it could be, when just then a
radio message arrived: "Am sending a boat--384."

"Sending a boat? What for?" He meditated over that puzzle and then he
solved it--as he thought. "Sure. That British commodore she picked up is
coming to see how the survivors aboard here are getting on. That's
it"--he turned to the watch-officer--"you know how these Britishers are
for regulations. Even in the midst of a mess like this we'll have to
kotow to his rank or he'll probably be reporting us. So rouse out six
side-boys, line 'em up, rig up the port ladder, have the bugler stand by
for ta-ra-rums and all that stuff."

They did that, shoving their crowded survivors out of the way to make
room for the ceremony.

The Putt! putt! putt! comes nearer and nearer. Next, from out of the
blackness of the ocean they make out a little motor-dory. Balanced out
on the gunwale of the little dory, when it comes nearer, they see an
American bluejacket smoking a cigarette. No one else was in the dory.

The dory ran alongside. It was about a 14-foot dory--no smaller one in
the flotilla. The skipper of the 396 looked down at him. "What you
want?"

The bluejacket removed the cigarette from his lips. "I'm from the 384,
sir."

"Yes, yes, but what do you want?"

"I've come, sir"--he waved his cigarette-stub airily--"to take off the
survivors. The captain thought I might be able to make one load of 'em."

* * * * *

When the big _P. & O._ liner reported herself torpedoed that evening, a
destroyer--not one of ours--picked up the message 100 miles or so away;
and at once radioed: COMING TO YOUR ASSISTANCE--GIVE POSITION,
COURSE, AND SPEED.

That was proper and well-intentioned, but as the 384 and the 396 were
already standing by, a radio was sent back: EVERYTHING ALL RIGHT--NO
HELP NEEDED--THANK YOU.

That did not seem to satisfy the inquirer. WOULD LIKE TO HELP--GIVE
POSITION, SPEED, AND COURSE.

Everybody being busy, nobody bothered to answer that. By and by came
another radio: