“I do,” said Norah, promptly.
“Then I hope you won’t get this one!” said the captain, as promptly. “Not on my ship, anyhow. And I don’t think you will, either—the route will be well guarded, and we don’t run risks. You must look on boat-drill as just one of the games the doctor advocates—designed to keep you all from getting fat and lazy. And there’s a whale blowing over there—can you see?”
Norah turned in excitement, and could just see the faint spout of water on the horizon.
“Is that all?” she said, disgustedly. “Won’t he come any nearer?”
“I’m afraid that one won’t,” said the captain; “he’s a long way off, and we’re going fast. But don’t say I didn’t provide you with diversions, Miss Norah—porpoises and leviathans of the deep, and boat-drill!” He laughed at the disappointed face. “A whale is really a dull, old thing, until you get to close quarters, but you needn’t say I said so—they’re one of our stock attractions. I must go”—and he went, swiftly, with quick greetings for passengers on the way. The captain possessed in full that valuable attribute of captains of liners—at the day’s end each passenger used to feel that he or she had been the special object of “the skipper’s” attention and interest. It is this quality which helps to lead to the command of big ships.
Some one came up and carried off the boys and Norah to a game of deck-tennis—which is played with a rope quoit across a net, and provides as much strenuous exercise and as many bruised knuckles as the most exacting could demand. Mr. Linton found his deck-chair and a book, and the long, lazy morning went by imperceptibly, as do all mornings on board ship. At luncheon, there were rumours of news—some one had heard that the wireless operator was in communication with a ship, and there ensued a buzz of speculation. The captain, entering, was appealed to by a dozen voices.
“No news at all,” said he, sitting down. “The operator heard a British warship speaking somewhere, a long way off; she speaks in code, but they know the preliminary signals.”
Mr. Smith, looking slightly anxious, shot out a question.
“That does not mean danger to the troopships, I hope, captain?”
“I shouldn’t think so,” said the captain. “There’s no reason that it should; with a big convoy like that the warships will be spread out, and they must exchange messages. It’s probably of the simplest nature—only we don’t know anything about it, so I can’t enlighten any one.” He gave a little laugh. “I suppose there is no use in my mentioning that the best advice I can give you all is to forget that there is a war?”