CHAPTER XXVI
IN DANGER ALL
It was, indeed, a solemn little group that was seated around the table in the great cabin of the Stephanie. The dominant spirit of the occasion was not the masterful financier, the brilliant young executive, or the beautiful and charming maiden. It was a grizzled veteran sailor who had called the conference in that section of the Stephanie which he rarely entered save for business purposes. The grave anxiety of Captain Weatherby's face was reflected in the faces of John Maynard, George Harnash, and Stephanie Maynard.
"And you think the yacht's condition is serious, do you?" asked Maynard.
"Just about as serious as it could be, Mr. Maynard," answered the captain.
"Yet there's not a better built ship on the seas than this," observed Harnash.
"Granted," said Captain Weatherby; "she's all that money and skill and steel and science could make her, but she's only a manufactured article, after all, and she has just bucked the biggest thing in nature. That she has come off as well as she has is a tribute to her builders."
"And to her sailing master," put in Stephanie deftly.
"If you hadn't handled her just as you did, none of us would be here now," added Harnash heartily.
"That's as may be," answered the captain modestly.