"Sink? We're not going to sink at all if I can help it! This is no worse than lots of storms. You had better go to your cabin and lie down."
"Oh, I wouldn't dare to! The ship might sink while I was there. I know we'll get caught in a whirlpool, or in a waterspout, or some other dreadful thing! This is terrible! Awful! Fearful!"
The wind was increasing, and great waves dashed over the Eagle's bow.
"It's bad luck to have such a storm-croaker as that aboard," murmured one of the sailors. "He's a regular Jonah!"
"I wish he'd go below," muttered the captain, and Bob overheard him. "He's frightening every one up here, and we're going to have a hard enough time as it is without a nervous man on deck."
Bob, though he was frightened at the storm, which was constantly growing worse, determined to stick it out. He wanted to see what would happen. But he saw a chance to do a service to the captain, though it would involve playing an innocent trick on Mr. Tarbill.
Accordingly, when there came a little lull in the wind, Bob made his way to where the nervous passenger stood with his back braced against a deckhouse.
"It'll be here pretty soon now," said Bob, shouting to make himself heard above the noise of the storm.
"What will, my dear young friend?" asked Mr. Tarbill, forgetting his former anger at Bob under the stress of the circumstances. "Do you mean to tell us anything else is going to happen?"
"Something surely is, Mr. Tarbill," said Bob, with an air of great earnestness, moving closer to the man, so as to get away from the driving rain, as Mr. Tarbill stood under shelter.