only wants a
couple of minutes to four bells."

Plummer sat down again, and I went out of the fo'cas'le. Reaching the
poop, I met Tammy on the lee side, pacing up and down.

"Who's at the wheel?" I asked him, in astonishment.

"The Second Mate," he said, in a shaky sort of voice. "He's waiting to
be relieved. I'll tell you all about it as soon as I get a chance."

I went on aft to the wheel.

"Who's that?" the Second inquired.

"It's Jessop, Sir," I answered.

He gave me the course, and then, without another word, went forrard
along the poop. On the break, I heard him call Tammy's name, and then
for some minutes he was talking to him; though what he was saying, I
could not possibly hear. For my part, I was tremendously curious to know
why the Second Mate had taken the wheel. I knew that if it were just a
matter of bad steering on Tammy's part, he would not have dreamt of
doing such a thing. There had been something queer happening, about
which I had yet to learn; of this, I felt sure.

Presently, the Second Mate left Tammy, and commenced to walk the weather
side of the deck. Once he came right aft, and, stooping down, peered
under the wheel-box; but never addressed a word to me. Sometime later,
he went down the weather ladder on to the main-deck. Directly
afterwards, Tammy came running up to the lee side of the wheel-box.

"I've seen it again!" he said, gasping with sheer nervousness.

"What?" I said.

"That _thing_," he answered. Then he leant across the wheel-box, and
lowered his voice.

"It came over the lee rail--_up out of the sea_," he added, with an air
of telling something unbelievable.

I turned more towards him; but it was too dark to see his face with any
distinctness. I felt suddenly husky. "My God!" I thought. And then I
made a silly effort to protest; but he cut me short with a certain
impatient hopelessness.

"For God's sake, Jessop," he said, "do stow all that! It's no good. I
must have someone to talk to, or I shall go dotty."

I saw how useless it was to pretend any sort of ignorance. Indeed,
really, I had known it all along, and avoided the youngster on that very
account, as you know.

"Go on," I said. "I'll listen; but you'd better keep an eye for the
Second Mate; he may pop up any minute."

For a moment, he said nothing, and I saw him peering stealthily about
the poop.

"Go on," I said. "You'd better make haste, or he'll be up before you're
half-way through. What was he doin