red, would serve as guides, observations having
been made with the sextant upon them and adjacent land.

By half past one that afternoon we weighed anchor and sailed out of
the harbour, our friends on the different ships waving us good-bye,
and that night lay off Iligan in a very rough sea. At daybreak we
drew alongside the buoy, got it and the shore end aboard, and before
splicing, "spoke" Iligan, making several tests which showed that end
working satisfactorily. Then the splice was completed, and by evening
we were under way for Cagayan, laying cable as we went.

In less than an hour after we started there was great excitement on
board, even the loungers on the quarter-deck hurrying forward to hear
the details of what might have been a very serious accident, due to
the cable slipping on the drum. Had the officer on watch not been
very prompt and efficient the cable would have become unmanageable,
"taken charge," as it is called, resulting in great inconvenience,
delay, and possible loss of life to those in the tank.

As it was, we had a delightfully uneventful sail, anchoring off
Cagayan that evening a little after six o'clock. Not caring to
make so important a splice after dark, the cable was cut and buoyed
overnight. This was necessary, as that particular splice had to be
made from a small boat, which of course precluded the use of electric
lights. But by nine o'clock on the following morning our splice was
completed, and communication established between Misamis, Iligan,
and Cagayan, the line being most satisfactory in every respect. So it
was with light hearts that we sailed for Cebu, on the island of Cebu,
where we were to coal, picking up our giant buoys as we went.

Chapter VI

CEBU

Early the next morning we sailed into Cebu harbour, and found it
alive with ships of all sorts and conditions. From the sea there is
nothing picturesque about the town. It is a grimy, dirty place that
might be located anywhere in the world, with huge warehouses and
rows of squat, ugly buildings near the shore, and in the distance,
over the gray walls of the inevitable fort, church spires and green
tree tops intermingle under a burning sky.

Before we were really at anchor small boats filled with boys and girls
clustered around our ship, the children yelling in English--English,
mark you!--for coins to be thrown overboard that they might plunge
into the swift current after them. There was a veritable pandemonium