Florrie. Next
time you go below, look in the glass and see how nice you look."

She turned her back to him, and he went down. In five minutes he was
asleep. And, as he slipped off into unconsciousness, there came to his
mind the thought that one man in the forecastle was not manacled; and
when Florrie wakened him at noon the thought was still with him, but he
dismissed it. Jenkins was helpless for a while, unable to move or
speak, and need not be considered.

CHAPTER XVI

Florrie had proved herself a good cook, and they ate dinner together,
then Denman went on deck. The boat was still rolling on a calm sea; but
the long, steady, low-moving hills of blue were now mingled with a cross
swell from the northwest, which indicated a push from beyond the horizon
not connected with the trade wind. And in the west a low bank of cloud
rose up from, and merged its lower edge with, the horizon; while still
higher shone a "mackerel sky," and "mare's tail" clouds--sure index of
coming wind. But there was nothing on the horizon in the way of sail or
smoke; and, anticipating another long night watch, he began preparations
for it.

Three red lights at the masthead were needed as a signal that the
boat--a steamer--was not under command. These he found in the lamp room.
He filled, trimmed, and rigged them to the signal halyards on the
bridge, ready for hoisting at nightfall. Then, for a day signal of
distress, he hoisted an ensign--union down--at the small yard aloft.

Next in his mind came the wish to know his position, and he examined the
log book. Forsythe had made an attempt to start a record; and out of his
crude efforts Denman picked the figures which he had noted down as the
latitude and longitude at noon of the day before. He corrected this with
the boat's course throughout the afternoon until the time of shutting
off the oil feed, and added the influence of a current, which his more
expert knowledge told him of. Thirty-one, north, and fifty-five, forty,
west was the approximate position, and he jotted it down.

This done, he thought of the possibility of lighting the boat through
the night, and sought the engine room. He was but a theoretical
engineer, having devoted most of his studies to the duties of a line
officer; but he mastered in a short time the management of the small gas
engine that worked the dynamo, and soon had it going. Electric bulbs in
the engine room sprang into life; and, after watching the engine for a