is
knife to him, and he was carrying it in his hand when his attention was
attracted astern to our wake. Mike Cipriani and Bill Quigley had managed
to catch the lazily moving log-line and were clinging to it. The
_Elsinore_ was moving just fast enough to keep them on the surface
instead of dragging them under. Above them and about them circled
curious and hungry albatrosses, Cape hens, and mollyhawks. Even as I
glimpsed the situation one of the big birds, a ten-footer at least, with
a ten-inch beak to the fore, dropped down on the Italian. Releasing his
hold with one hand, he struck with his knife at the bird. Feathers flew,
and the albatross, deflected by the blow, fell clumsily into the water.

Quite methodically, just as part of the day's work, the steward chopped
down with his knife, catching the log-line between the steel edge and the
rail. At once, no longer buoyed up by the _Elsinore's_ two-knot drag
ahead, the wounded men began to swim and flounder. The circling hosts of
huge sea-birds descended upon them, with carnivorous beaks striking at
their heads and shoulders and arms. A great screeching and squawking
arose from the winged things of prey as they strove for the living meat.
And yet, somehow, I was not very profoundly shocked. These were the men
whom I had seen eviscerate the shark and toss it overboard, and shout
with joy as they watched it devoured alive by its brethren. They had
played a violent, cruel game with the things of life, and the things of
life now played upon them the same violent, cruel game. As they that
rise by the sword perish by the sword, just so did these two men who had
lived cruelly die cruelly.

"Oh, well," was Mr. Pike's comment, "we've saved two sacks of mighty good
coal."

* * * * *

Certainly our situation might be worse. We are cooking on the coal-stove
and on the oil-burners. We have servants to cook and serve for us. And,
most important of all, we are in possession of all the food on the
_Elsinore_.

Mr. Pike makes no mistake. Realizing that with our crowd we cannot rush
the crowd at the other end of the ship, he accepts the siege, which, as
he says, consists of the besieged holding all food supplies while the
besiegers are on the imminent edge of famine.

"Starve the dogs," he growls. "Starve 'm until they crawl aft and lick
our shoes. Maybe you think the custom of carrying the stores aft just
happened. Only it didn't. Before you and I were born it