I saw him immediately, waving his travelling cap with a flourish of joy,
and I snatched a little comfort from that.
As soon as the steamer was brought to, he was the first to come aboard,
and I scanned his face as he hurried up the gangway. It was beaming.
"It's all right," I thought; "a man could not look as happy as that if
he were bringing me bad news."
A moment afterwards he was shaking my hand, clapping me on the shoulder,
and saying:
"Splendid! Magnificent! Glorious achievement! Proved your point up to
the hilt, my boy!"
And when I said something about not having gone all the way he cried:
"Never mind! You'll do it next time," which made some of my shipmates
who were standing round with shining eyes say, "Aye, aye, sir," and then
one of them (it was good old O'Sullivan) shouted:
"By the stars of heaven, that's thrue, my lord! And if anybody's after
saying that the Commanther was turned back this time by anything less
than the almighty power of Nature in her wrath, you may say there's
forty-eight of us here to tell him he lies.
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