seven o'clock all the troops were aboard, and the men were
allowed on deck. For the first time Claude saw the profile of New
York City, rising thin and gray against an opal-coloured morning
sky. The day had come on hot and misty. The sun, though it was
now high, was a red ball, streaked across with purple clouds. The
tall buildings, of which he had heard so much, looked
unsubstantial and illusionary,--mere shadows of grey and pink and
blue that might dissolve with the mist and fade away in it. The
boys were disappointed. They were Western men, accustomed to the
hard light of high altitudes, and they wanted to see the city
clearly; they couldn't make anything of these uneven towers that
rose dimly through the vapour. Everybody was asking questions.
Which of those pale giants was the Singer Building? Which the
Woolworth? What was the gold dome, dully glinting through the
fog? Nobody knew. They agreed it was a shame they could not have
had a day in New York before they sailed away from it, and that
they would feel foolish in Paris when they had to admit they had
never so much as walked up Broadway. Tugs and ferry boats and
coal barges were moving up and down the oily river, all novel
sights to the men. Over in the Canard and French docks they saw
the first examples of the "camouflage" they had heard so much
about; big vessels daubed over in crazy patterns that made the
eyes ache, some in black and white, some in soft rainbow colours.

A tug steamed up alongside and fastened. A few moments later a
man appeared on the bridge and began to talk to the captain.
Young Fanning, who had stuck to Claude's side, told him this was
the pilot, and that his arrival meant they were going to start.
They could see the shiny instruments of a band assembling in the
bow.

"Let's get on the other side, near the rail if we can," said
Fanning. "The fellows are bunching up over here because they want
to look at the Goddess of Liberty as we go out. They don't even
know this boat turns around the minute she gets into the river.
They think she's going over stern first!"

It was not easy to cross the deck; every inch was covered by a
boot. The whole superstructure was coated with brown uniforms;
they clung to the boat davits, the winches, the railings and
ventilators, like bees in a swarm. Just as the vessel was backing
out, a breeze sprang up and cleared the air. Blue sky broke
overhead, and the pale silhouette of buildings on the long island