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He held out his hand and Edgar gripped it hard. They looked firmly into each other’s eyes. They were not afraid of facing death. Edgar seemed to have grown older, and Captain Manton saw the look of determination on his face and thought to himself:

‘This lad will not fail me. He will give his life to save those I love.’

‘Good-bye,’ said Edgar, and without another word he went to rouse his fellow-passengers.

So well did he accomplish his difficult task that, although the peril they were in was understood, there was no panic. Happily there were very few women and children on board, and the men behaved well.

It was an awful sight, Edgar thought: the saloon filled with people hastening to their death, awaiting the summons from the captain, ‘All hands on deck,’ which meant they were to sell their lives as dearly as possible. The very suddenness of the danger appeared to have taken all sense of fear away. Not a word was spoken; the sobbing of children, and the half-smothered, heart-rending groan of some poor mother, could alone be heard.