ken the stairway on the weather side; and when he
had got half way up, a terrible sea struck the ship just forward of the
paddle box. A portion of the wave, and an immense mass of spray, dashed
up on board the ship, and a quantity equal to several barrels of water
came down upon the stairs where Hilbert was ascending. The poor fellow
was almost strangled by the shock. He however clung manfully to the rope
railing, and as soon as he recovered his breath he came back into the
cabin.

CHAPTER IX.

THE PASSENGERS' LOTTERY.

One morning, a few days after the storm described in the last chapter,
Rollo was sitting upon one of the settees that stood around the skylight
on the promenade deck, secured to their places by lashings of spun yarn,
as has already been described, and was there listening to a conversation
which was going on between two gentlemen that were seated on the next
settee. The morning was very pleasant. The sun was shining, the air was
soft and balmy, and the surface of the water was smooth. There was so
little wind that the sails were all furled--for, in the case of a
steamer at sea, the wind, even if it is fair, cannot help to impel the
ship at all, unless it moves faster than the rate which the paddle
wheels would of themselves carry her; and if it moves slower than this,
of course, the steamer would by her own progress outstrip it, and the
sails, if they were spread, would only be pressed back against the masts
by the onward progress of the vessel, and thus her motion would only be
retarded by them.

The steamer, on the day of which we are speaking, was going on very
smoothly and rapidly by the power of her engines alone, and all the
passengers were in excellent spirits. There was quite a company of them
assembled at a place near one of the paddle boxes where smoking was
allowed. Some were seated upon a settee that was placed there against
the side of the paddle box, and others were standing around them. They
were nearly all smoking, and, as they smoked, they were talking and
laughing very merrily. Hilbert was among them, and he seemed to be
listening very eagerly to what they were saying. Rollo was very strongly
inclined to go out there, too, to hear what the men were talking about;
but he was so much interested in what the gentlemen were saying who were
near him, that he concluded to wait till they had finished their
conversation, and then go.

The gentlemen who were near him were talking abo