ng as
though some malignant thing was staring at me. I rubbed my eyes and
looked again, but the vision persisted, and I went forward to get a
glass. When I came back the thing, whatever it was, had disappeared, but
the water where it had been was boiling as though there were a great
spring or something of the sort under the surface.

"I trained my glass on the disturbed area, and I will take my oath
that I saw a huge body like a snake emerge from the water. It lay in
long undulations on the waves, and moved with them as though it were
floating. It was quite a bit nearer than the first thing had been and
I could see it plainly with the glass. I would judge it to be fifteen
or twenty feet thick, and it actually seemed to disappear in the
distance as Green had described it. The sight of the thing sent shivers
up and down my spine, and I gave a hoarse shout. The lookout hurried
to my side and asked me what the trouble was. I pointed and handed
him the glass. He looked through it and handed it back to me with a
curious expression.

"'I can't see nothing, sir,' he said.

"I took the glass from him and tried to level it but my hands were
trembling so that I was forced to rest it on the rail. The lookout was
right. There was absolutely nothing to be seen and the peculiar
appearance of the sea had subsided to normal. The lookout was staring at
me rather curiously and I knew that he was thinking the same thing about
me as I had thought about Green in the afternoon. I made some kind of an
excuse and went below to pull myself together. I caught a glimpse of
myself in the glass. I was as white as a sheet, and the sweat was
running off my face in drops.

* * * * *

"I shook myself together after a fashion and managed to persuade myself
that the whole thing was just a trick of my mind, inspired by Green's
vivid description of his delirious vision of the afternoon. Eight bells
struck, and when Mr. Fulton, the junior officer, relieved me, I laid
down and tried to quiet myself. I didn't have much luck. Just before I
took the deck again at midnight I slipped down to the forecastle to see
how Green was coming along. He was lying in his bunk, wide awake, with
staring eyes.

"'How are you feeling now, Green?' I asked.

"He looked up at me with an expression of a man who has looked death in
the face.

"'Ain't there no chance of dockin' to-night, Mr. Mitchell?' he asked.

"'Of course not,' I said rath