ssed us, Rectus sung out to him, and asked him where we
were now.

"Off Hatteras," said he, quite shortly.

I didn't think Rectus should have bothered Mr. Randall with questions
when he was so busy; but after he went into the captain's room, the men
did not seem to have much to do, and I asked one of them how deep it
was.

"About seventeen fathoms," said he.

"Can we see Cape Hatteras?" I said, trying to get a good look landward
as the vessel rolled over that way.

"No," said the man. "We could see the light just before day-break, but
the weather's gettin' thick now, and we're keepin' out."

It was pretty thick to the west, that was true. All that I could see in
the distance was a very mixed-up picture of wave-tops and mist. I knew
that Cape Hatteras was one of the most dangerous points on the coast,
and that sailors were always glad when they had safely rounded it, and
so I began to take a good deal of interest in what was going on. There
was a pretty strong wind from the south-east, and we had no sail set at
all. Every now and then the steamer would get herself up on top of a big
wave, and then drop down, sideways, as if she were sliding off the top
of a house. The mate and the captain soon came out on deck together, and
the captain went forward to the pilot-house, while Mr. Randall came over
to his men, and they got ready to throw the lead again. It didn't seem
to me that the line ran out as far as it did the last time, and I think
I heard Mr. Randall say, "Fourteen." At any rate, a man was sent forward
to the pilot-house, and directly we heard the rudder-chains creaking,
and the big iron arms of the rudder, which were on deck, moved over
toward the landward side of the vessel, and I knew by that that the
captain was putting her head out to sea. Mr. Randall took out the tallow
from the lead and laid it in an empty bucket that was lashed to the
deck. He seemed to be more anxious now about the depth of water than
about the kind of bottom we were passing over. The lead was just about
to be thrown again, when Rectus, who had taken the tallow out of the
bucket, which stood near us, and had examined it pretty closely, started
off to speak to Mr. Randall, with the tallow in his hand.

[Illustration: "'HOLD YOUR TONGUE!' ROARED MR. RANDALL."]

"Look here!" said Rectus, holding on to the railing. "I'll tell you what
would be a sight better than tallow for your leads. Just you get some
fine, white Castile-soap, and---