o
occasion to regret that he had yielded his opinion to that of his owner.
Paul Vapoor had been found equal to all the requirements of the
situation, for the judgment of the young chief was almost as marvellous
as his genius.

Paul was gentle in his manners, and possessed a very lovable
disposition; in fact, he was almost a woman in all the tender
susceptibilities of his nature; and those who knew him best knew not
which to admire most, his genius or his magnetic character. Mr. Leon
Bolter, the first assistant engineer, was thirty-six years old; and
Mr. Fred Faggs, the second, was twenty-six. But there was neither envy,
jealousy, nor other ill-feeling in the soul of either in respect to his
superior; and they recognized the God-given genius of the chief more
fully than others could, for their education enabled them to understand
it better.

Paul Vapoor and Christy Passford were fast friends almost from the
first time they met; and they had been students together in the same
institution, though they were widely apart in their studies. They were
cronies in the strongest sense of the word, and the chief engineer would
have given up his very life for the son of his present employer. The
owner favored this intimacy, for he felt that he could not find in all
the world a better moral and intellectual model for his son.

Mr. Vapoor, as he was always called when on duty, even by the members of
the owner's family in spite of the fact that he seemed to be only a boy,
appeared on the quarter-deck of the steamer in answer to the summons of
the commander. He was neatly dressed in a suit of blue, with brass
buttons, though some of the oil and grime of the engine defaced his
uniform. He bowed, and touched his cap to the commander, in the most
respectful manner as he presented himself before him.

"For reasons which you will understand better, Mr. Vapoor, at a later
period, Captain Passford is in a great hurry to reach Bermuda, where we
are bound, at the earliest possible moment," the captain began. "Our
ordinary rate of speed is fourteen knots when we don't hurry her."

"That is what I make her do when not otherwise instructed," replied the
chief engineer.

"You assisted as a volunteer in building the engine of the Bellevite,
and you were in the engine-room during the whole of the trial trip,
three years ago," continued Captain Breaker with a smile on his face;
and a smile seemed to be a necessity in the presence of the young ma