and settling fast. Vessel is doomed. Am preparing to abandon ship. Will remain till last minute. Need help immediately.”
The instant Captain Hardwick read the order, he cast loose from the Hiawatha and headed about to save his own men. He sent a reassuring message to the Wilmington, then another to the Hiawatha, telling her to make a sea anchor, and keep in touch with the Oneida, which would reach her in a few hours.
All the while wind and sea grew worse. But little did the commander of the Iroquois care. He had weathered many a storm that was worse than this. He thought of only one thing: he must get to his men. Relentlessly he pushed the cutter. He drove the crew. He was everywhere, thinking of every contingency, preparing for every emergency. He had the sick bay prepared. He got cots and medicines in readiness. He warned the cook to be ready with hot drinks and food. Men and ship alike responded to the dynamic influence of their commander and drove the ship at a pace incredible.
As the sturdy cutter tore her way through the seas to reach the Wilmington, that doomed vessel sank lower and lower in the head and rolled ever more helplessly in the waves. Yet she floated. The bulkhead still held. The pumps could still be operated, and the volunteers were working