nto leaving her."

"We shall see," said Kettle, still staring intently ahead.

The boat was run up cannily alongside, and Kettle jumped into the main
chains and clambered on board over the bulwarks. "Now, pass up my crew,
Mr. Strake," said he.

"I'm coming myself next, if you don't mind," said the third mate, and
did so. "Must obey the old man's orders," he explained, as they stood
together on the sloping decks. "You heard yourself what he
said, Captain."

"Well, Mr. Mate," said Kettle grimly, "I hope you'll decide she's
seaworthy, because, whatever view you take of it, as I've got this far,
here I'm going to stay."

The mate frowned. He was a young man; he was here in authority, and he
had a great notion of making his authority felt. Captain Kettle was to
him merely a down-on-his-luck free-passage nobody, and as the mate was
large and lusty he did not anticipate trouble. So he remarked rather
crabbedly that he was going to obey his orders, and went aft along the
slanting deck.

It was clear that the vessel had been swept--badly swept. Ropes-ends
streamed here and there and overboard in every direction, and everything
movable had been carried away eternally by the sea. A goodly part of the
starboard bulwarks had vanished, and the swells gushed in and out as
they chose. But the hatch tarpaulins and companions were still in place;
and though it was clear from the list (which was so great that they
could not walk without holding on) that her cargo was badly shifted,
there was no evidence so far that she was otherwise than sound.

The third mate led the way on to the poop, opened the companion doors
and slide, and went below. Kettle followed. There was a cabin with state
rooms off it, littered, but dry. Strake went down on his knees beneath
the table, searching for something. "Lazaret hatch ought to be down
here," he explained. "I want to see in there. Ah, it is."

He got his fingers in the ring and pulled it back. Then he whistled.
"Half-full of water," he said. "I thought so from the way she floated.
It's up to the beams down here. Likely enough she'll have started a
plate somewhere. 'Fraid it's no go for you, Captain. Why, if a breeze
was to come on, half the side of her might drop out, and she'd go down
like a stone."

Now to Kettle's honor be it said (seeing what he had in his mind) he did
not tackle the man as he knelt there peering into the lazaret. Instead
he waited till he stood up again, and then made h