cline; the next, the ship would
bury her prow, and we were rushing forward pell mell. The boat seemed to
be endowed with diabolical intelligence that night. A man might,
perchance, stoop to tie his shoe or examine a freshly stubbed toe, when
the ship would seem to divine that she had him at a disadvantage, and
would leap forward so that he would immediately stand on his head, or
affectionately and firmly embrace a convenient stanchion. "Pride cometh
before a fall," and the man who thought he had caught the swing and
could walk a chalk line on the deck, soon found that the old boat knew a
new trick or two, and in a twinkling of an eye he was sawing the air
frantically with his arms, in his efforts to keep his balance.

Though the force of the tropical storm was soon spent, the sea continued
high, and locomotion was difficult.

The hammocks were given out by the "hammock stowers" of the watch on
duty. They called out the numbers stenciled on our "dream bags," and the
owners stepped forward and claimed them. As soon as a man secured his
hammock he immediately slung it in place, unlashed it, and arranged the
blankets to his liking.

A group gathered around the capstan aft, after the hammock ceremony had
been completed.

Some one said, "I'm glad I can sleep in a hammock a night like this; the
heave of the ship will be hardly felt."

"Yes," responded the "Kid," "I wouldn't swap my 'sleeping bag' for the
captain's bed, to-night."

"That reminds me," said "Stump." "Speaking of beds--when we were in New
York a friend of mine came aboard to see me. He had a sister, but left
her at home."

"You can thank your lucky stars he did. If she'd seen your weary,
coal-covered visage, you could not even have been a brother to her,"
interrupted "Hay."

"I guess you're right," responded "Stump," with an appreciative grin.
"Anyhow, she did not come. So when her brother got home she plied him
with questions--this he wrote me afterwards--wanted to know how I
looked, asked what the ship was like, inquired about our food, and then
she questioned him about my stateroom. Was it prettily decorated? Whose
photograph occupied the place of honor on my dressing table?

"Billy, my friend," explained "Stump," "is a facetious sort of chap, so
he told her that of course such a large crew could not _all_ have
staterooms, but _I_ had a very nice one, that could be folded when not
in use, and put to one side out of the way. It was made of canvas, he