laurence went down for the book , hoping that the interest of the material would rouse him , but while he was still in his cabin , the ship abruptly rocked , and an enormous splash outside sent water flying in through the opened round windows and onto the floor ; laurence ran to look through the nearest porthole , hastily rescuing his dampened letters , and saw temeraire , with an expression at once guilty and self-satisfied , bobbing up and down in the water .