noon
He waited only long enough to see that the Captain succeeded in freeing Jeremy , then drew a great breath and plunged over the side . Swimming under water , he watched for the towed longboat to come by overhead , and as her dark bulk passed , he caught her keel with a strong grip of his fingers , worked his way back and came up gasping , his hands holding to the rudder ring in her stern . The hot , still days had warmed the surface of the sea to a temperature far above the normal , or he must certainly have become exhausted in a short time . As it was , he clung to his ring till near noon , when , cautiously peering above the gunwale , he saw the sloop 's deck empty save for a steersman , half asleep in the hot sun by the tiller . With a great wrench of his arms the ex-buccaneer lifted himself over the stern and slipped as quietly as he was able into the boat 's bottom . There he lay breathless , listening for sounds of alarm aboard the sloop . None came and after a few moments he wriggled forward and made himself snug under the bow-thwart .