the hurricane deck, aft, a sailor was
chalking a shuffleboard court. It occurred to him that all this might
become monotonous unless he found some actual part in it. Just then
Captain Scottie appeared on the bridge, took a quick look round, and
joined him on top of the charthouse.

"Good morning!" he said. "You won't think me rude if you don't see much
of me? Thinking about those ideas of yours, I have come upon some rather
puzzling stuff. I must work the whole thing out more clearly. Your
suggestion that Conscience points the way to an integration of
personality into a higher type of divinity, seems to me off the track;
but I haven't quite downed it yet. I'm going to shut myself up to-day
and consider the matter. I leave you in charge."

"I shall be perfectly happy," said Gissing. "Please don't worry about
me."

"You suggest that all the conditions of life at sea, our mastery of the
forces of Nature, and so on, seem to show that we have perfect freedom
of will, and adapt everything to our desires. I believe just the
contrary. The forces of Nature compel us to approach them in their own
way, otherwise we are shipwrecked. It is in the conditions of Nature
that this ship should reach port in eight days, otherwise we should get
nowhere. We do it because it is our destiny."

"I am not so sure of that," said Gissing. But the Captain had already
departed with a clouded brow.

On the chart-room roof Gissing had discovered an alluring instrument,
the exact use of which he did not know. It seemed to be some kind of
steering control. The dial was lettered, from left to right, as follows
HARD A PORT, PORT, STEADY, COURSE, STEADY, STARBD, HARD A STARBD. At
present the handle stood upon the section marked COURSE. After a careful
study of the whole seascape, it seemed to Gissing that off to the south
the ocean looked more blue and more interesting. After some hesitation
he moved the handle to the PORT mark, and waited to see what would
happen. To his delight he saw the bow swing slowly round, and the
Pomerania's gleaming wake spread behind her in a whitened curve. He
descended to the bridge, a little nervous as to what Mr. Pointer might
say, but he found the Mate gazing across the water with the same fierce
and unwearying attention.

"I have changed the course," he said.

Mr. Pointer saluted, but said nothing.

Having succeeded so far, Gissing ventured upon another innovation.
He had been greatly tempted by the wheel, and