t,"
added Captain Gauley.

"I really am not."

"The light would blind the helmsman's eyes so that he could not see the
shore. As soon as we are clear of the Selvages we shall light up."

Bessie was satisfied with this explanation. On board of a Sound steamer
she had observed that the windows in the forward part of the saloon
were covered with thick canvas at night, so that the glare of the light
near the boat should not deepen the gloom beyond it, and thus prevent
the pilot from seeing the land, or other vessels in the distance. But
she was not satisfied with her situation otherwise. The vessel did not
_feel_ like the yacht, and Levi and her father did not appear.

While she stood watching the helmsman, and trying to comprehend the
inexplicable position of affairs, she saw a light in the cabin. She
looked down, and perceived a woman in the act of lighting a lamp.

"Don't light that lamp!" shouted the man at the helm. "It blinds my
eyes so that I can't see to steer."

The woman extinguished the match she was applying to the lamp, and
darkness reigned in the cabin again. Who was the woman? She asked the
helmsman.

"Your father thought you ought to have a female waiter, and he has
obtained one," replied Captain Gauley; but she did not notice the
chuckle with which he spoke.

Bessie knew that her father would not have provided a woman without
consulting her, and she determined to inquire into the situation. She
went down the cabin steps again, guided by faith, rather than sight,
and felt her way to the locker where she had before been seated.

"Who is it?" asked the woman, from her place at the forward part of the
cabin.

"It is I," replied Bessie. "Did my father employ you as stewardess of
the yacht?"

"I guess not," replied the woman. "I'm not anybody's stewardess, I can
tell you!"

"Who are you then?" asked Bessie, now really alarmed.

"Well, I'm Mrs. Vincent, of course. This is my husband's vessel, and I
never expect to be a servant to anybody," answered the woman, rather
indignant at being thought a stewardess, even in the dark. "Now, who
are you?"

"I am Miss Watson," replied Bessie, her heart sinking within her, so
that she could hardly utter the words.

"Miss Watson! Bless me! What, Mr. Watson's daughter?"

"Yes."

"Well, that is strange, sure enough!"

"Is Captain Dock Vincent your husband?" asked Bessie, almost choked
with terror.

"Certainly he is."

"And this vessel is not The Starry