n head resting close alongside one of the lanterns
that were dimly burning, and an Anglo-foreign dictionary in his hand.
His mate, or brother, who resembled him in everything except that he
had dark hair, lay asleep alongside; and in the next berth a long
consumptive-looking new chum sat in his pyjamas, with his legs hanging
over the edge, and his hands grasping the sideboard, to which, on his
right hand, a sort of tin-can arrangement was hooked. He was staring
intently at nothing, and seemed to be thinking very hard.

We dozed off again, and woke suddenly to find our eyes wide open, and
the young Swiss still studying, and the jackaroo still sitting in the
same position, but with a kind of waiting expression on his face--a sort
of expectant light in his eyes. Suddenly he lurched for the can, and
after awhile he lay back looking like a corpse.

We slept again, and finally awoke to daylight and the clatter of
plates. All the bunks were vacated except two, which contained corpses,
apparently.

Wet decks, and a round, stiff, morning breeze, blowing strongly across
the deck, abeam, and gustily through the open portholes. There was a
dull grey sky, and the sea at first sight seemed to be of a dark blue
or green, but on closer inspection it took a dirty slate colour, with
splashes as of indigo in the hollows. There was one of those near, yet
far-away horizons.

About two-thirds of the men were on deck, but the women had not shown up
yet--nor did they show up until towards the end of the trip.

Some of the men were smoking in a sheltered corner, some walking up and
down, two or three trying to play quoits, one looking at the poultry,
one standing abaft the purser's cabin with hands in the pockets of
his long ragged overcoat, watching the engines, and two
more--carpenters--were discussing a big cedar log, about five feet in
diameter, which was lashed on deck alongside the hatch.

While we were waiting for the _Oroya_ some of the ship's officers came
and had a consultation over this log and called up part of the crew, who
got some more ropes and a chain on to it. It struck us at the time that
that log would make a sensation if it fetched loose in rough weather.
But there wasn't any rough weather.

The fore-cabin was kept clean; the assistant steward was good-humoured
and obliging; his chief was civil enough to freeze the Never-Never
country; but the bill of fare was monotonous.

During the afternoon a first-salooner ma