well--revealed the fact that the occupants
were busy within; but even while Cavendish looked, a few people emerged
from adjacent cabins, all of them warmly clad and evidently prepared as
well as they could be for the hardships of exposure in open boats.
Also, far away for'ard, Dick could just distinguish that the smoke-room
door was open and that men were passing in and out, their movements
suggesting uneasiness and expectancy.

Again Dick glanced over the rail. The water was perfectly smooth,
unwrinkled by even the faintest zephyr of a breeze, and the great ship
lay almost as motionless and steady as though she were in dock. Thank
God! when the moment came there ought to be no difficulty in getting the
laden boats safely lowered and afloat. At the thought of the boats he
glanced upward and saw that the whole of them on the starboard side were
swung out and lowered sufficiently to permit of the people stepping
easily into them from the deck above. Then he ran across the deck to
the port side, and saw that all boats but one on that side were also
ready, while the last one was even at that moment being lowered to the
same level as the rest.

As Dick walked back to his station at the head of the ladder another
rocket went screaming its way aloft into the black sky, and with the
bursting of it the lad became conscious of the fact that the wireless
was no longer insistently clamouring; there were moments now when it
remained silent for quite a minute or more, followed by a few sharp
cracklings, and again silence. The _Everest_ had evidently at last got
into touch with another ship and was exchanging confidences with her.

Dick began to feel cold up there on the promenade deck, and to promote
warmth, proceeded to walk briskly to and fro athwart the broad space of
deck abaft the long range of cabins. And as he did so, he caught a
momentary view of one of the quartermasters entering the doorway which
led toward the main companion-way, and, incidentally, to the library,
ladies' boudoir, grand saloon, and dining-hall. The man held a small
slip of paper in his hand, and Dick instantly surmised that the slip
might be a communication from either the captain or the chief officer to
the purser.

The lad paused in his walk, awaiting results. And they were not long in
coming, for a few minutes later the quartermaster emerged, quickly
followed by the purser, who, taking up a position midway between the
smoke-room and the blo