It was exceedingly inconvenient to have to lie down or crawl; but Sandy had been used to inconveniences all his life, and this was simply a difference in kind, not in degree.

Besides, he could steal out at night and, by being very careful and still, manage to avoid the night watch.
The first night out a man and a girl had come up from the cabin deck and sat directly under his hiding-place.

At first he was too much afraid of discovery to listen to what they were saying, but later his interest outweighed his fear.

For they were evidently lovers, and Sandy was at that inflammable age when to hear mention of love is dangerous and to see a manifestation of it absolute contagion.

When the great question came, his heart waited for the answer.