soft from the north-east, it
was easy business to hold sight of the convoy, which we did to the
satisfaction of every man aboard us. But I could not put away from
myself the knowledge that the events of the first three days had made
much talk in the fo'castle and that a feeling akin to terror prevailed
amongst the men.

This came home to me with some force on the early morning of the fifth
day. I found myself unable to sleep restfully in my bunk, and went
above at daybreak, to see the white hulls of the American war-vessels a
mile away on the port-quarter and the long line of the Black Anchor
boat a few cables'-lengths ahead of them. Paolo was on the bridge, but
I did not hail him, thinking it better to give the man few words until
we sighted Sandy Hook. He, in turn, maintained his sullen mood; but he
did not neglect to be much amongst the hands, and his intimacy with
them increased from day to day.

Now, when I came on deck this morning, I found that the breeze, strong
and fresh though it was, put me in that soporific state I had sought
unavailingly in my bunk. There was a deck-chair well placed behind the
shelter of the saloon skylight, and upon this I made myself at ease,
drawing my peaked hat upon my eyes, and getting the sleep-music from
the swish of the sea, as it ran upon us, and sprinted from the tiller
right away to the bob-stay. But no sleep could I get; for scarce was I
set upon the chair when I heard Dan the other side of the skylight, and
he was holding forth with much fine phrase to Roderick's dog, Belle.

"Yes," he said, apparently treating the beast as though possessed of
all human attributes. "Yes, you don't go for to say nothing, but you're
a Christian dog, I don't doubt; and yer heart's in the right place; or
it's not me as would be wasting me time talking to yer. Now, what I
says is, you're comfortable enough, with Missie a-makin' as much of yer
as if good fresh beef weren't tenpence a pound, and yer mouth warn't
large enough to take in a hundredweight; but that ain't the way with
the rest of us--no, my old woman, not by a cable's-length; we're afloat
on a rum job, old lady; and some of us won't go for to pipe when it's
the day for payin' off--not by a long way. So you hear; and don't get
answerin' of me, for what I spoke's logic, and there's an end of it."

I called him to me, and had it out with him there and then.

"What's in the wind now, Dan," I asked, "that you're preaching to the
dog?"