would give half I'm worth
to be a hundred miles away from it"; and here he suddenly wheeled, and,
facing me roughly, he asked--

"Do you want me to get this boat into port again?"

"Of course. Is there any great need to answer a question like that?"

"At the moment, yes; for, with your pleasure, I'm going to put up the
helm and sheer off. I'm not a man that loves fighting myself, and, with
a ship and crew to look after, I've no business in any affair of that
sort; but it's for you to say."

Before I could answer him, Roderick moved from his place and came up on
the bridge where we stood.

"Hold on a bit, skipper," he cried, "as we are, if you please; why,
man, it's a sight I wouldn't miss for a fortune."

The skipper searched him with his eyes with a keen, lasting gaze, that
implied his doubt of the pair of us. His voice had a fine ring of
sarcasm in it when he replied after the silence; but all he said was,
"It's your affair," and then turned to the first officer.

"Don't you think he was right?" I asked Roderick in a low voice, when
the chief's back was turned, but he whispered again--

"Not yet--we must see more of it; and they're too much occupied to hunt
after us. We'll be away long before those two have settled accounts;
and, look now, I can see a man on the bridge of the yellow ship. Do you
mark him?"

I had my glass to my eye in a moment, and the light was so full upon
the vessel, which must then have been a mile and a half away from us,
that I could prove his words; for, sure enough, there was now someone
moving upon the bridge, and, as I fixed my powerful lens, I thought
that I could recognise the shape of a man; but I would not speak my
mind to Roderick until I had a nearer view.

"You are right," I answered; "but what sort of a man I will tell you
presently. Did you ever see anything like the pace that big ship is
showing? She must be moving at twenty-five knots."

"Yes, it's amazing; and what's more, there isn't a show of smoke at her
funnel."

This was true, but I had not noticed it. Throughout the strange scene
we saw, this vessel of mystery never gave one sign that men worked at
her furnaces below. Neither steam nor smoke came from her, no evidence,
even the most trifling, of that terrible power which was then driving
her through the seas at such a fearful speed.

But of the activity of her human crew we had speedily further sign;
for, almost as I answered, there was some belching of flam