d was law aboard ship, and that he enforced it
in the fewest words possible, was evident in every line of his face
and every tone of his voice. If he deserved an overhauling it certainly
would not come from any one on board--least of all from Carhart--the
Man-Who-Knew-It-All.

Loosening the thong that bound his so'wester to his chin, he slapped it
twice across a chair back, the water flying in every direction, and then
faced the room.

"Mr. Bonner."

"Yes, sir," answered the big-shouldered Texan, rising to his feet.

"I'd like to see you for a minute," and without another word the two men
left the room and made their way in silence down the wet deck to where
the Chief Engineer stood.

"Mike, this is Mr. Bonner; you remember him, don't you? You can rely on
his carrying out any orders you give him. If you need another man let
him pick him out--" and he continued on to his cabin.

Once there the Captain closed the door behind him, shutting out the
pound and swash of the sea; took from a rack over his bunk a roll of
charts, spread one on a table and with his head in his hands studied
it carefully. The door opened and the Chief Engineer again stood beside
him. The Captain raised his head.

"Will Bonner serve?" he asked.

"Yes, glad to, and he thinks he's got another man. He's what he calls
out his way a 'tenderfoot,' he says, but he's game and can be depended
on. Have you made up your mind where she'll cross?"--and he bent over
the chart.

The Captain picked up a pair of compasses, balanced them for a moment in
his fingers, and with the precision of a seamstress threading a needle,
dropped the points astride a wavy line known as the steamer track.

The engineer nodded:

"That will give us about twenty-two hours leeway," he said gravely, "if
we make twelve knots."

"Yes, if you make twelve knots: can you do it?"

"I can't say; depends on that gang of shovellers and the way they
behave. They're a tough lot--jail-birds and tramps, most of 'em. If
they get ugly there ain't but one thing left; that, I suppose, you won't
object to."

The Captain paused for a moment in deep thought, glanced at the pin
prick in the chart, and said with a certain forceful meaning in his
voice:

"No--not if there's no other way."

The Chief Engineer waited, as if for further reply, replaced his cap,
and stepped out into the wind. He had got what he came for, and he had
got it straight.

With the closing of the door the Captain