by the schooner as she rolled heavily on
the gathering swell; not a sound save those which arose within her as
the bulkheads and timbers creaked and groaned dismally, the cabin-doors
rattled, the rudder kicked as the water swirled and gurgled about it and
under her counter with the heave of her, and the jerk of the spars
aloft, or the slatting of the braces as she swayed, pendulum-like, from
side to side.

"What does the glass say?" inquired I, in response to Pierrepoint's last
question. I walked to the open skylight and peered down through it at
the barometer, the tube of which was just sufficiently illuminated by
the turned-down cabin lamp to permit of its condition being noted. It
had fallen an inch since I last looked at it, during my watch on deck!

"Phew!" ejaculated I, "there must surely be something the matter with
the thing; it can never have fallen that much in scarcely two hours!"

I hurried below and, turning up the lamp, subjected the instrument to a
careful examination; but, as far as I could make out, there seemed to be
nothing wrong with it; the fall had all the appearance of being
perfectly genuine. But, whether or not, it was certain that the captain
ought at once to be made acquainted with the state of affairs; I
therefore went forthwith to his cabin and aroused him.

"Ay, ay," he answered sleepily, to my call. "What is it, Mr Dugdale?
Has the barque hove in sight?"

"No such luck, sir, I am sorry to say," replied I. "But I think you
ought to know that the weather has a very peculiar and threatening
appearance; and the glass has dropped a full inch within the last two
hours."

"An inch?" ejaculated Ryan, starting up in his bunk. "An inch? Surely,
Dugdale, you must be mistaken!"

"Indeed, sir, I am not," said I. "I examined the barometer very
carefully, and satisfied myself that I had made no mistake before
calling you."

"By Jove, then, it is high time that I was on deck!" exclaimed he,
leaping out of his bunk. "Just put a match to my lamp, Harry, my lad,
will ye; you will find a box there on the shelf. Is there any wind?"

"Not a breath, sir; but I shall not be surprised if we have a great deal
more than we want before long," I answered.

"Um!" said he. "Well, almost anything short of a hurricane would be
better than these exasperating calms. The swell seems to have risen a
bit since I turned in, hasn't it?"

"Quite perceptibly," said I, "and it seems to be coming more out fr