pursue you from a beginning
in nothing to a run-to-cover in nowhere." Reply of Bermudian of
twenty-seven years' absence: "Yes; and to think they have logical,
analytical minds and argumentative ability. You see 'em begin to whet up
whenever they smell argument in the air." Plainly these be philosophers.

Twice since we left port our engines have stopped for a couple of
minutes at a time. Now they stop again. Says the pale young man,
meditatively, "There!--that engineer is sitting down to rest again."

Grave stare from the captain, whose mighty jaws cease to work, and
whose harpooned potato stops in midair on its way to his open, paralyzed
mouth. Presently he says in measured tones, "Is it your idea that the
engineer of this ship propels her by a crank turned by his own hands?"

The pale young man studies over this a moment, then lifts up his
guileless eyes, and says, "Don't he?"

Thus gently falls the death-blow to further conversation, and the dinner
drags to its close in a reflective silence, disturbed by no sounds but
the murmurous wash of the sea and the subdued clash of teeth.

After a smoke and a promenade on deck, where is no motion to discompose
our steps, we think of a game of whist. We ask the brisk and capable
stewardess from Ireland if there are any cards in the ship.

"Bless your soul, dear, indeed there is. Not a whole pack, true for ye,
but not enough missing to signify."

However, I happened by accident to bethink me of a new pack in a morocco
case, in my trunk, which I had placed there by mistake, thinking it to
be a flask of something. So a party of us conquered the tedium of the
evening with a few games and were ready for bed at six bells, mariner's
time, the signal for putting out the lights.

There was much chat in the smoking-cabin on the upper deck after
luncheon to-day, mostly whaler yarns from those old sea-captains.
Captain Tom Bowling was garrulous. He had that garrulous attention to
minor detail which is born of secluded farm life or life at sea on long
voyages, where there is little to do and time no object. He would sail
along till he was right in the most exciting part of a yarn, and then
say, "Well, as I was saying, the rudder was fouled, ship driving before
the gale, head-on, straight for the iceberg, all hands holding their
breath, turned to stone, top-hamper giving 'way, sails blown to ribbons,
first one stick going, then another, boom! smash! crash! duck your head
and stand fr