pping
the boats of their canvas, casting them loose, hoisting them out of
their chocks, and swinging them outboard ready for lowering.

"Why, you chump," answered Dick, "they are doing that for the express
purpose of reassuring people like yourself, who always go badly scared
if they get half a chance. Besides, it is one of the standing orders of
the ship, and gives the men a bit of exercise in handling the boats.
They will hang there for a bit, and then they will be swung inboard and
stowed again. Now,--_please_ go back to your cabins, all of you, and
make yourselves comfortable. Or, if you don't care to do that--if you
are determined to hang about out here on deck in the cold, at least go
and put some warm clothes on. For I tell you candidly that it may be an
hour or more before those boats are swung in and stowed."

"All right!" returned Dick's opponent, "I'll stay where I am until
that's done, and chance it. I'd rather have a cold than be drowned in
my cabin, like a rat in a trap."

"Very well," retorted Dick. "Do as you please, by all means. It's your
look-out, not mine. Only you are setting a very bad example to the
others. And by this time to-morrow you will all be sorry that you did
not take my advice."

Meanwhile, from where Dick stood, at the foot of the ladder leading to
the promenade deck, he could hear the purser up there suavely assuring a
crowd of first-class passengers that there was not the slightest
occasion for alarm, that the boats were merely being swung out as a
precautionary measure always adopted in such cases, and that if they
would kindly retire to the dining-saloon they would find a hot supper
awaiting them which he had taken it upon himself to order, just to
fortify his charges against any possible ill effects from the cold to
which they were so foolishly exposing themselves. And while he spoke,
the purser was busily but very politely shepherding the promenade deck
crowd toward the doorway giving access to the dining-saloon.

But above the suavely jocular accents of the purser's voice Dick's quick
ears caught other and more sinister sounds, to wit, the persistent
crackling of the ship's wireless installation, and he very shrewdly
suspected that that meant something much more serious and important than
"Sparks" swapping good-nights with some other operator--that, in short,
it meant nothing less than that most urgent of all wireless calls, the
S.O.S. of a ship in dire distress su