What little wind that had been stirring throughout the remainder of daylight, after the short squall, fell flat at sundown; and when the thick weather had so lightened that the stars, as well as the moon, could be distinguished, we found ourselves riding over an unrippled ground swell.
It was phantomlike and eerie out there on that heaving oil, not a spar or sail striking its outline against the heavens, but a steady purr of waters as they slid under the schooner’s spoon bow.
I had never known an engine of the explosive type to work more quietly. Whoever fitted that muffler knew his business.
Moreover, there was a certain enjoyment in this very weirdness, an enjoyment which was enhanced for me by the fact that, since the gloaming, Stella Stroth had joined us on deck.
Indeed, at the moment when the light was first descried, she was leaning lightly over the rail at the quarter, gazing down into the mystery of the black waters slipping by.
“Two pennies for your thought,� said I, rather lamely.
“Why, odd enough,� she replied slowly. “I was just thinking what an odd thing the whole business is!�
“What whole business?� I said lightly.
“Oh, living,� she answered quietly.
“A fine kind of remark for eighteen,� I bantered. “Especially with a moon like that overhead.�