Then I realized that my being there was a mistake, so I saluted and said, 'Nothing, sir.'" "That's a very nice tale," said "Dye." "We'll have to get 'Mac' to verify it." "It's straight," protested "Stump." "Ask the skipper himself if you want to." The old boat ploughed her way through the blue waters of the Gulf Stream at the rate of from fourteen to fifteen knots an hour.

The skies were clear and the sun warm and bright--cool breeze tempered its heat and made life bearable.

The ship rolled lazily in the long swell and the turquoise wake boiled astern.

We steamed for days without sighting a sail or a light; we were "alone on a wide, wide sea." At times schools of dolphins would race and shoot up out of the water alongside, much to our glee.

All the beauties of these tropical waters were new to us.
Every school of flying fish and flock of Mother Carey's chickens brought crowds to the rail.