asked Alice, accepting this chance to get out of
answering, though what she had meant was the identity of the mysterious
Hen Lacomb, and not the youth on the dock.

"I've seen him before," Ruth said.

"Who?" asked Alice quickly, her mind still intent on the mystery.

"Why, Alice, how odd you are! That young man of whom we are speaking, to
be sure. I mean I've seen him around the studio. He seems to be quite
impressed by Miss Dixon."

"Yes," said Alice, vaguely. "Well, let's go below," she suggested. "You
notice how nautical I'm getting," she went on.

"Forgetful you mean," supplemented Ruth. "Well, anyhow, we have fine
weather for the start."

The schooner was well out from the dock now, and the pilot was in
charge, so there was nothing for Captain Brisco to do for the present.
He had gone to his cabin, and the stranger, or, rather, Hen Lacomb, to
give him the name bestowed on him, was with the commander.

"I wish I knew what they were talking about," said Alice, and, without
intending to do so, she spoke aloud.

"Who?" asked Ruth. "Really, you are saying the strangest things this
morning, Sister mine!"

"Oh, I was thinking--thinking----"

Alice was rather at a loss for words to explain.

"You must have some of your new roles on the brain," went on Ruth. "I
know I've been doing a lot of thinking over mine. They are nearly all
nice ones, I'm glad to say, but I don't like the parts we have to take
in the shipwreck. Fancy having actually to jump into the water."

That was one of the things required, according to the scenario.

"There's no danger," Alice said, as she and her sister reached the
stateroom they were to share.

"Oh, but think of _sharks_ in those Southern waters!"

"I'm not going to think of them," declared Alice. "Besides, we shall be
in the water only a short time, and the motorboat will pick us up. It
will be nice and warm."

The plan of the shipwreck included the jumping overboard of some of the
company, and their rescue in small boats, or by the motorboat _Ajax_,
that would follow, with Russ in it taking the moving pictures of the
"thrilling scenes."

"Well, that doesn't come until toward the end," Ruth remarked, "so I'm
not going to think about it until then. Now let's unpack."

Ruth and Alice had comfortable, if rather restricted, quarters in a
small cabin containing two bunks. Their father was near them, and the
other members of the company had rooms scattered about. The ship's cr