y his fiancee had agreed to the pact for they
were now man and wife.

When Dick started toward the ship, after watching the baggage put on
board, he was stopped by a tap on the shoulder. The cab drivers were
still waiting for their money. Morquil had left everything in his hands,
even to paying for the motor trip to the dock.

It was a strange departure, with only a few people on the dock to say
goodbye. Even they were just neighbors of the passengers. Most of the
women on board were crying as the _Primrose_ nosed out through the
harbor toward the open sea.

* * * * *

Dick was still at the rail when the captain approached. "I'm sorry to
bother you, Mr. Barrow, but I must know our destination so I can set the
course."

The young leader's day dreaming was cut short, to jerk him back to his
duties. He felt that the lives and hopes of everyone on the ship had
been thrust into his hands.

Even the captain didn't know where they were going. The ship had been
chartered for a voyage of several months, to an unknown destination. He
and the crew were well paid, and didn't care where they went.

Dick drew a sealed envelope from his pocket, detached a slip of paper
and handed it to the captain. He read the note, then repeated it. "You
are to keep the destination to yourself. No one on the ship is to know
where we are going, and you will not mention it to me again. I hope that
we have good weather, Captain, and a fast trip."

Barrow felt like a fool. Repeating messages as if they were his
own--without the slightest knowledge of what they were about. _He_ was
supposedly charting the course--and didn't have the slightest idea where
they were going.

When Dick reached his stateroom (after answering questions from everyone
on board--and telling them nothing) he found Dolores sobbing. She had
kept her smile until the boat sailed. Now she was crying her eyes out.
It was not a new sight, as every woman on the ship seemed occupied in
the same way, with the men trying to comfort them.

As Dick sat down beside her, he could feel the throb of the diesel
motor. It seemed to carry the rhythm of adventure through the walls of
the cabin, giving the feeling of the unknown. For a long time there was
silence while Dolores held one of Dick's hands for protection.

"Dick! We only have _one_ cabin! I'm supposed to stay here with you--and
I _hardly know you_! Morquil told me that I must stay here, there are no