So the
men on the masts kept their eyes on Giovanni, and the men in the boat
kept their eyes on the men on the masts, and steered their course
according to the signals from the look-out."
"And they saved him?"
"Yes, they brought him back; and if we cheered when they went away, you
may believe we cheered when they got safe to the ship's side again."
"And who was Giovanni? and did he get all right?"
"Giovanni was one of the sailors, an Italian. He was a fine young
fellow, and appeared to think nothing whatever of his adventure. I
remember he resolutely refused to go below and change his clothes till
he had helped to haul up the boat. With his white teeth shining through
a broad grin, he told us in his broken English that he had been
overboard every voyage he had taken. He said he didn't mind anything
except the swooping and pecking of the albatross. They obliged him to
dive so constantly, to keep his eyes from their beaks."
"Was it a comber washed him overboard?"
"No. He was mending the jib-boom, and lost his hold and fell into the
sea. He really had a very narrow escape. A less active swimmer might
easily have been drowned. I always think, too, that he had an advantage
in the fact that the water was warm.
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