without windows, I knew. But Anita's room had a
window and a door which gave upon the deck. I went through the lounge,
out its arch and walked the deck length. The deck door and window of
A22 were closed and dark.

The deck was dim with white starlight from the side ports. Chairs were
here but they were all empty. From the bow windows of the arching dome
a flood of moonlight threw long, slanting shadows down the deck. At
the corner where the superstructure ended, I thought I saw a figure
lurking as though watching me. I went that way, but it vanished.

I turned the corner, went the width of the ship to the other side.
There was no one in sight save the observer on his spider bridge, high
in the bow network, and the second officer, on duty on the turret
balcony almost directly over me.

As I stood and listened, I suddenly heard footsteps. From the
direction of the bow a figure came. Purser Johnson.

He greeted me. "Cooling off, Gregg?"

"Yes," I said.

He passed me and went into the smoking room door nearby.

I stood a moment at one of the deck windows, gazing at the stars; and
for no reason at all I realized I was tense. Johnson was a great one
for his regular sleep--it was wholly unlike him to be roaming about
the ship at such an hour. Had he been watching me? I told myself it
was nonsense. I was suspicious of everyone, everything, this voyage.

I heard another step. Captain Carter appeared from his chart room
which stood in the center of the narrowing open deck space near the
bow. I joined him at once.

"Who was that?" he half whispered.

"Johnson."

"Oh, yes." He fumbled in his uniform; his gaze swept the moonlit deck.
"Gregg--take this." He handed me a small metal box. I stuffed it at
once into my shirt.

"An insulator," he added swiftly. "Snap is in his office. Take it to
him, Gregg. Stay with him--you'll have a measure of security--and you
can help him to make the photographs." He was barely whispering. "I
won't be with you--no use making it look as though we were doing
anything unusual. If your graphs show anything--or if Snap picks up
any message--bring it to me." He added aloud, "Well, it will be cool
enough presently, Gregg."

He sauntered away toward his chart room.

"By heavens, what a relief!" Snap murmured as the current went on. We
had wired his cubby with the insulator; within its barrage we could at
least talk with a degree of freedom.

"You've seen George Prince, Gregg?"

"No. He'