ho had been with them
since Bournemouth days, the party consisted of the skipper, Captain
Otis, who was well acquainted with the Pacific, a crew of four
deck-hands, and a Japanese cook.

The _Casco_ was a fore-and-aft schooner, ninety-five feet in length, of
seventy tons' burden. "She had most graceful lines and with her lofty
masts, white sails and decks, and glittering brass work, was a lovely
craft to the eye as she sat upon the water."

"I must try to describe the vessel that is to be our home for so long,"
Mrs. Stevenson, senior, wrote to her sister at Colinton. "From the deck
you step down into the cockpit, which is our open air drawing room. It
has seats all around, nicely cushioned, and we sit or lie there most of
the day. The compass is there, and the wheel, so the man at the wheel
always keeps us company.... At the bottom of the stairs on the right
hand side is the captain's room. Straight ahead is the main--or
after--cabin, a nice bright place with a skylight and four portholes.
There are four sofas that can be turned into beds if need be, and there
are lockers under them in which our clothes are stored away. Above and
behind each sofa is a berth concealed by white lace curtains on brass
rods, and in these berths we three women are laid away as on shelves
each night to sleep.

"Opposite the entrance is a mirror let into the wall, with two small
shelves under it. On each side of this is a door. The one to the right
leads ... to Lloyd's cabin, and beyond that again is the forward cabin,
or dining room. The door to the left opens into ... Louis'
sleeping-room. It is very roomy with both a bed and a sofa in it, so
that he will be very comfortable....

"The dining room has a long table and chairs. Between the doors a very
ugly picture of fruit and cake. Louis would fain cover it up if we could
spare a flag with which to do it. The doors at the further end lead to
the pantry and galley and beyond these are the men's quarters."

No expense had been spared in building the _Casco_ to make her
comfortable. She was intended, however, for cruising in the California
waters and was hardly suited to the rough handling she received during
the squally weather of the next few months. Fortunately she stood the
test well and her passengers suffered few discomforts.

Once under way and settled for living, the trip proved quite uneventful.
The long days were spent on deck reading or working, and Stevenson began
to gather ma