When Bunny and Sue reached the deck and found the white, wet, clinging mist all about them they were surprised. The fog was so dense and thick that they could not see the bow or stern of the ship when they stood in the middle, or “amidships,” as a sailor would call it.
As for looking over the side and seeing any other vessels that might be approaching or any land that the Beacon might be nearing, this was out of the question. A white curtain of mist seemed drawn all about the steamer, and Bunny and Sue soon realized that they were going very slowly. The Beacon was under half speed.
“Why do we go so slow?” asked Bunny, just as the foghorn again boomed out its deep note.
“That’s in case we should happen to bump into another ship,” explained his father. “By going slowly less damage would be done.”
“Are other ships going slow, too?” Sue wanted to know.
“Oh, yes, indeed.”
“I don’t hear any of them whistling,” remarked Bunny.
“Probably they are too far off,” his father told him. “But you may hear some tooting before the day is over.”
After remaining on deck for a while to look about them in the fog, Bunny and Sue decided that it was time for them to go down to get breakfast.
“It’s rather chilly up here,” said Mrs. Brown.