There was general regret on board the Serpent when the little princess
said goodby to all her friends and went down the accommodation
ladder to the boat with her father. The chief had said but little
to the two young midshipmen, for he saw that they preferred that
the matter should not be alluded to, but he held their hands at
parting, and said:

"I shall see you again before long; but if at any time you should
want me, I will come, even if your summons reach me in the middle
of a battle."

"It is such nonsense, Doctor," Harry said, as the boat pushed off,
"to have so much made of such a thing as jumping into the water.
If one had been alone, and had tried to save a man or a woman, in
such a state of funk that there was a good chance of their throwing
their arms round your neck and pulling you down with them, there
might be something in it, though everyone takes his chance of that
when he jumps in to save anyone from drowning; but with a little
child, and two of us to do it, and the ship close at hand, it was
not worth thinking of for a moment."

"No, Parkhurst, from your point of view the thing was not, as you
say, worth giving a thought to; but, you see, that is not the point
of view of the chief. To him it is nothing whether your exploit
was a gallant one or not, or whether you ran any danger; the point
simply is, his child would have been drowned had you not seen her
and fished her out, and that it is to you that he owes her life.
I think you have reason to congratulate yourselves on having made
a friend who may be very useful to you. It may be that there will