manner. He was pleasant
enough to the passengers, and I never had an unkind word from him, but
he was most tyrannical to a number of the men, ordering them about,
making them set fresh sail, take it down, and altering his orders
half-a-dozen times over, till the men used to go about muttering, and
more than once I heard words spoken about him that were startling, to
say the least.

One evening when it was very dark, the moon not having risen, I was
looking over the side and down into the calm, black water which was as
full of tiny specks of light as the sky above me, and every now and then
these little glittering points beneath the surface would be driven here
and there as if a fish had swum sharply by. It was all so beautiful, to
watch point after point gliding about lower and lower till all was jet
black, that I had forgotten everything, heard nothing, till all at once
just behind me I heard Mr Brymer say--

"Of course it is very unpleasant for me. I'm afraid the men will not
stand much more of it. Do you think he is going mad?"

There was a pause for a few moments, and then Mr Frewen said--

"No; I feel sure that it is only a temporary trouble due to the heat and
over-anxiety about the ship."

"But he is getting worse; and twice over to-day I felt as if I ought to
shut him up in his cabin and take charge altogether."

"No, I should not do that," said Mr Frewen, "so long as nothing serious
goes wrong. If he really gets too bad, I suppose I must help you by
justifying your proceedings in superseding him."

"For the owners' sake, of course."

"Of course. It is a very serious position for us both. But there, he
may be better to-morrow. If not, we must hope for the improvement when
we get further south."

"Then you would not take command?"

"Certainly not, under the present circumstances."

"Halloa!" cried Mr Brymer--"a spy! Who's that--Walters?"

"No, sir; it is I."

"And what are you doing there, listening?"

"I was watching the phosphorescence of the sea, sir, and you came and
stood close to me and began talking."

"And you heard?" said Mr Frewen.

"Every word, sir."

"And do you know that we were talking about Mr Denning?" said the mate.

"No; you were talking about the captain."

They were silent for a few moments, and then Mr Frewen spoke.

"Look here, Dale," he said, "this is a delicate matter. You have seen
that Captain Berriman is ill?"

"I thought he was very strange, and a