The White Flag
Captain John let loose a hurrah that startled even himself and woke the sleeping Roger.
“Titty, Titty, how ever did you do it?” he said.
“Well done, Titty,” said Susan.
Roger sat up in the bottom of the boat. “Hullo, Titty,” he said, and then curled up and went to sleep again.
John jibed Swallow and then, bringing her to the wind, ran her alongside. Mate Susan scrambled forward and grabbed the gunwale of the Amazon .
“But where are the Amazons?” said John.
“They’ve got our camp. They’ve got Wild Cat Island,” said Titty. “I couldn’t help it. I was asleep, and there was an owl, and I thought it was you, and I lit the lights, and they came into the harbour. Then they went to the camp and I took Amazon .”
“Who cares about the camp?” cried John. “It was whoever could capture the other’s ship. And now we’ve got her. And I thought we’d failed. Swallow is flagship after all. Well done, Titty.”
Titty tried to tell her story, how she had pushed out in the dark, how she had tried to anchor near the opposite shore and had only found out when day came that she had anchored by Cormorant Island instead. Owls … the noise of rowing … men quarrelling … the leading light going out … it all seemed a muddle.