sts the only
thing to do is to cheer up the women and trust to luck."

"You're the nerviest mate I ever shipped with, Mr. Brewster," and the
captain's hand gripped Monty's in a way that meant things. It was a
tribute he appreciated.

During the day Monty devoted himself to his guests, and at the first
sign of pensiveness he was ready with a jest or a story. But he did it
all with a tact that inspired the crowd as a whole with hope, and no
one suspected that he himself was not cheerful. For Peggy Gray there
was a special tenderness, and he made up his mind that if things should
go wrong he would tell her that he loved her.

"It could do no harm," he thought to himself, "and I want her to know."

Toward night the worst was over. The sea had gone down and the hatches
were opened for a while to admit air, though it was still too rough to
venture out. The next morning was bright and clear. When the company
gathered on deck the havoc created by the storm was apparent. Two of
the boats had been completely carried away and the launch was rendered
useless by a large hole in the stern.

"You don't mean to say that we will drift about until the repairs can
be made?" asked Mrs. Dan in alarm.

"We are three hundred miles off the course already," explained Monty,
"and it will be pretty slow traveling under sail."

It was decided to make for the Canary Islands, where repairs could be
made and the voyage resumed. But where the wind had raged a few days
before, it had now disappeared altogether, and for a week the "Flitter"
tossed about absolutely unable to make headway. The first of August had
arrived and Monty himself was beginning to be nervous. With the fatal
day not quite two months away, things began to look serious. Over one
hundred thousand dollars would remain after he had settled the expenses
of the cruise, and he was helplessly drifting in mid-ocean. Even if the
necessary repairs could be made promptly, it would take the "Flitter"
fourteen days to sail from the Canaries to New York. Figure as hard as
he could he saw no way out of the unfortunate situation. Two days more
elapsed and still no sign of a breeze. He made sure that September 23d
would find him still drifting and still in possession of one hundred
thousand superfluous dollars.

At the end of ten days the yacht had progressed but two hundred miles
and Monty was beginning to plan the rest of his existence on a capital
of $100,000. He had given up all hope of