FISHERMEN IN WAR TIME 



So far so good. The first part of the fight had 

 been won. The cutter had been secured and there 

 was every prospect of saving the men who were 

 crowded into it, swept by the icy seas, and suffering 

 severely, for they had been in the boat for twelve 

 hours, and were very insufficiently clothed. 



The sailors watched for their chance of jumping 

 and climbing on board the heaving smack from their 

 own little vessel, which was riotously thrown about 

 by the seas — it was calculated that the seas at times 

 rose to a height of thirty feet, so that the cutter was 

 often in a deep hollow or high above the Provident. 

 But the skill and coolness of the skipper and his 

 crew, and the strong efforts of the shipwrecked men 

 who saw safety so near, proved successful, and after 

 a stirring and tumultuous fight of half-an-hour the 

 survivors in the boat were safe on board the smack. 

 Considering the perils of the situation, the work of 

 transfer was done with remarkable freedom from 

 casualties ; the most serious injury being caused by 

 a man's fingers getting jammed between the cutter 

 and the smack. 



The little Provident was crowded when she had 

 taken on board the seventy-one men who had been 

 packed in the boat, but in the prompt way of the 

 fisherman, who was so accustomed to deal ably with 

 emergencies, instant steps were taken to provide 

 relief for the sufferers. Amongst these was a lad 

 of eighteen who needed immediate care so that his 

 life should be saved. 



Torpedo-Gunner Hurrigan, who was in charge of 



88 



