human
By-the-by, sir, he said to Tom,
gpt
Could you make out anybody on the stranger's deck?
human
No, sir, for evening was coming on, and we were too far off for that. She was a big ship, high out of the water for one outward bound. However, I did not further note her, and she was soon out of sight. That very night we lost a man overboard, but it was not until some weeks later, after we had been becalmed for ten days or more, that we fell in with the gale which reduced us to the wrecked state in which you found us.
gpt
I wish you could have made out the signal, said Tom.
human
Are you certain that the first part was `British officer'?
gpt
No doubt about that, answered Captain Robson,
human
That's strange, thought Tom.
gpt
I wonder whether Desmond could have been on board. If so, we may hear of him from Batavia, or one of the Spice Islands, to which the stranger was bound.