in Spark.

"I'm afraid to move for fear I'll slip overboard as Bob did."

"Well, if you do we can see to fish you out. It's daylight now."

"Oh, I'm miserable! I wish I had never come on this trip! I know
I shall never live to see home again!"

"I, too, wish you hadn't come," thought the captain, but he really
felt sorry for the nervous man.

Finally it grew so hot that Mr. Tarbill could stand it no longer.
He decided he would make his way forward, where he could be in the
shade of the sail. The others were very warm also, but they did
not complain. Even Bob, who was not used to roughing it as were
the sailors, stood it bravely, though the hot sun made his head
ache.

Mr. Tarbill, who was in the stern, near Captain Spark, arose and
started forward. As he did so a wave, larger than any that the
boat had previously encountered, careened the craft a bit.

"Oh, I'm going overboard!" exclaimed Mr. Tarbill.

He made a frantic clutch at the air, and really did almost go over
the side, but it was due more to his own awkwardness than to
anything else. Then he slipped down into the bottom of the gig,
but as he did so his arm shot out and something bright and shining
was knocked from the after locker over the gunwale into the sea,
where it fell with a little splash.

"Now you have done it!" cried the captain, standing up and making a
vain grab.

"Done it? Done what?" asked Mr. Tarbill.

"You've knocked overboard the only compass we had! How we're going
to find the island now is more than I can tell! This is a serious
loss."

CHAPTER XXIV

DAYS OF HOPELESSNESS

The captain's announcement struck terror to every heart. Even Bob,
with the little knowledge of the sea he possessed, realized what
that meant. They would have to "go it blind" now, and the chances
of finding a comparatively small island in that vast ocean were
little indeed.

"Did I knock the compass overboard?" asked Mr. Tarbill.

"You certainly did," spoke the captain grimly.

"I--I didn't mean to."

"No, I don't suppose you did. Still, it's on the bottom of the
ocean by this time."

"Oh, dear! What shall we do?"

"The best we can. Fortunately, I have a general idea of the
direction of our course, and at night I can make a shift to steer
by the stars, but it's going to be pretty much guesswork."

"If we can't find the big island, can't we go back to the small one
where we were?" asked Bob hopefully.

"It would be about a