"And I just love a blow. I've never seen one at sea, and, as this may be the only chance I'll get, I'm not going to miss it. Stay up with me, Ruth. Don't be like those sillies, and go below," and she motioned to Miss Pennington and Miss Dixon who were scurrying for cover, as the wind and the sea increased.
"Well, I'll stay up a little while," agreed Ruth. "But I—I'm afraid all the same."
"Nonsense!" cried Alice gaily. "We have a good ship under us. It went through a mutiny, and I guess it can weather a storm."
"That's just the point—can it?" asked Ruth in a low voice.
"What do you mean?" Alice asked in a curiously strained voice.
"I mean that this is an old vessel, 'made over,' as we would say of a dress, Alice, it can't be as good and strong as a new one would be, and in a storm——"
"Oh, don't be nervous!" broke in Alice. "Here, I'll ask Mr. Blake," and she stopped the first mate who was hurrying to and fro directing the men at their work of making everything snug below and aloft.
"Isn't she safe, Mr. Blake?" Alice appealed.
"Who?" the first mate wanted to know.
"This ship."