“That shows we are going farther and farther south each day,” said Mr. Brown. “And they never have snow or ice down in the West Indies.”
“Then we’ll have a rainstorm,” said Bunny.
“Yes, if we have any kind of a storm, it will be rain,” his father said.
“And wind?” asked Sue.
“Oh, yes, there is likely to be wind,” admitted Mr. Brown. “But the Beacon is a stout ship. She will come through the storm all right.”
In spite of this, as Bunny and Sue saw the clouds grow blacker and blacker and as they noticed the sailors going about the decks, making fast anything that was loose enough to blow away, the children became a little alarmed.
To quiet them, Mr. Brown took them down to see the big engines at work. Bunny liked machinery, and he was interested. When Mr. Brown pointed out how strong the machinery was and how it pushed the ship along through the water, the children concluded that a storm at sea need not alarm them.
But toward noon the wind began to blow and the ship began to pitch and toss in the big waves. Then Bunny and his sister did not like it so much. Nor did Mrs. Brown.
“Oh, this won’t amount to anything,” said Mr. Brown.
But the storm was worse than Mr. Brown would admit, even to himself, and the Beacon continued to roll and toss in the heavy “seas,” as sailors call the big waves.