I was soon joined in the engine room again by old Steve.
“How’s she runnin’?� he inquired, as he bit off a chew of plug, mumbling over the process of getting the exact break.
“Sweet enough,â€� I replied, “though she ought not to be driven any too long with even that bit of a crook.â€� I indicated the bend in the shaft. “A long spell would wear the stern bearing out of——â€�
“Which the same’s just wot I was a-tellin’ the old man just now. Kind o’ struck him like, too, I reckon; fer I hearn him shift the course sommat ter the Stevens lad.�
“Shift the course?� I queried, masking my interest as much as possible, but not enough to keep the old fellow from hedging on his tongue. He shifted the topic abruptly.
“And now, laddie, I guess as how there ain’t no more occasion ter keep you from deck, though the same which you done down here was mighty good,� he said meaningly.[Pg 45]
I acknowledged the appreciation with a shrug, gave him a cordial “So long,� and sought the deck.
Fog is even more whimsical than woman. And the quick survey I gave to the weather, as I stood a minute by the engine-room hatch, showed that this one had about made up its mind to lift again. At any rate, it was distinctly thinner.
I started aft along the cluttered deck toward Stevens, who was again at the wheel, but before I reached his side, Stroth had joined him from the main companionway.
The owner gave a critical scan to starboard, then spoke a word to Stevens, with a nod at the binnacle, and slowly the spokes went over to port. This, just as I was about to join them.