vertheless continued, on the gospel
truth of Kelly, to take a chair in the engineer's mess at the critical
hours of twelve and five. I myself saw her there at twelve once or twice,
judging the time, no doubt, by the parade of table-cloth and cutlery.

Without any abatement of the stuffy heat inside our cabins, we ran into
a rainy area. The sea was overcast, and the showers splashed us well.
Meanwhile, the wind had veered round more to the east, and besides
bringing the grey vapours of rain tumultuously towards us thence, set
the spray flying over the lower decks and kept us on the roll. Blowing
on the beam, however, it seemed to please Phillips, ever anxious about
the hourly ten knots, which seemed too high an expectation. Squalls
threatened; it was a tropical April mood. The rolling influenced my
sleep, in which I fancied myself manipulating the airiest pleasure-boats,
overcrowded with passengers who refused to sit down, on an angry
flooded river.

The peaceful disposition of the four apprentices began to weigh upon
Mead's mind. A very happy and orderly set they were, although the current
_Optimist_ contained an illustrated article on the bosun's tyranny, as:

"YOUSE take them two derricks for'ard."

"YOUSE jes' pick up that ventilator, you flat-nosed son of a sea-cook."

The drawings of the well-known walrus head under the antique, unique grey
(_ne_ white) one-sided sugar-loaf hat, were admirable. But to proceed.
The four boys were of the best behaviour, occasionally, indeed, laughing
or playing mouth-organs at unpopular hours, or even after the nightly exit
of the cook making flap-jacks, otherwise pancakes, from his properties
in the galley. When I joined Mead on his watch, one Sunday evening, he
began to "wonder what the boys are coming to." They were not like the
boys of his time. He delved into his own apprentice autobiography, and
rediscovered an era, a blissful era of whirling fists, blood, and booby
traps.

A day followed remarkable for the weather. A swell caused the ship to
roll with a will all day, but, as was expected in the doldrums, the
wind slackened. After a few hours of this lull, there was a piping and
groaning through all the scanty rigging that the steamer owned, and from
farther out to sea the grey obscurity of violent rainstorm, much as it
had done on our way south, bore down upon us. Soon the ship was cloaked
close in a cloud of rain pale as snow, which flecked the icy-looking
sea, veined w