nd had gone down; so
much so that the steamer chairs had to be lashed to the iron hand-hold
skirting the wall of the upper cabins. So had the fog, which was now so
dense that it hid completely the work of the boat gang.

With the passing of the afternoon and the approach of night, thus
deepening the gloom, there was added another and a new anxiety to the
drone of the fog-horn. This was a Coston signal which flashed from the
bridge, flooding the deck with light and pencilling masts and rigging in
lines of fire. These flashes kept up at intervals of five minutes, the
colors changing from time to time.

An indefinable fear now swept through the vessel. The doubters and
scoffers from the smoking-room who stood huddled together near the
forward companion-way talked in whispers. The slant of the deck they
argued might be due to a shift of the cargo--a situation serious, but
not dangerous--but why burn Costons? The only men who seemed to be
holding their own, and who were still calm and undisturbed, were the
Texan and the Actor. These, during the conference, had moved toward the
flight of steps leading to the bridge and had taken their positions near
the bottom step, but within reach of the widow's chair. Once the Actor
loosened his coat and slipped in his hand as if to be sure of something
he did not want to lose.

While this was going on the Captain left the bridge in charge of the
Second Officer and descended to his cabin. Reaching over his bunk, he
unhooked the picture of his wife and child, tore it from its frame,
looked at it intently for a moment, and then, with a sigh, slid it into
an inside pocket. This done, he stripped off his wet storm coat, thrust
his arms into a close-fitting reefing jacket, unhooked a holster from
its place, dropped its contents into his outside pocket, and walked
slowly down the flight of steps to where the Texan and the Actor stood
waiting.

Then, facing the passengers, and in the same tone of voice with which he
would have ordered a cup of coffee from a steward, he said:

"My friends, I find it necessary to abandon the ship. There is time
enough and no necessity for crowding. The boats are provisioned for
thirty days. The women and children will go first: this order will be
literally carried out; those who disobey it will have to be dealt with
in another way. This, I hope, you will not make necessary. I will also
tell you that I believe we are still within the steamer zone, although
the