“Oh, Professor, we’ve got to have some excitement,” said Darry. “Now that it is all over I think everything was just about right.”
“But I am under orders to bring you back home safe and sound,” returned Amos Strong, with a peculiar smile. “And how can I do that if you insist on placing your head in the lion’s mouth?”
“I haven’t seen a lion yet,” said Darry, with a vacant stare. “Where is he and where’s his mouth?”
There was a general laugh, in which even the professor joined, for he loved a joke as well as any of them.
“You know I was speaking metaphorically, Dartworth. Of course I cannot look ahead, but I sincerely trust that you do what you can to keep out of danger in the future. If you do not, I’ll have to call this tour off and take you all home.”
“We’ll be as good as mice watched by a cat,” put in Frank, and this caused another laugh; and then the subject was changed and soon the group separated, each person bent on making himself comfortable in his own way.
But the Chester was not a comfortable ship, as Mark and Frank soon learned by a tour from stem to stern. And they also learned another thing,—that the captain, Jason Sudlip, was anything but an agreeable man.
“Hi, you, I don’t allow passengers in there,” they heard the captain cry, while they were peering into the chart room. “You boys must stay where you belong while you are on this ship.”
“We weren’t going to touch anything, Captain,” replied Mark, pleasantly, although he did not like the way in which he was being addressed.
“Oh, I know boys—into everything they have no business in,” retorted Captain Sudlip. “I’ve had them on board before. You’ll have to stay where you belong.” And he slammed and locked the door of the chart room in their faces.