"You wish to vote in the negative, Mr. Scott?" inquired the captain.
"I do not intend to vote at all, Captain," replied the third officer. "It would be a little cheeky for me to vote to leave the ship without the permission of the captain or of the first officer."
"'In colleges and halls in ancient times there dwelt a sage called Discipline;' and a very good old fellow he was to have about, and quite as good on board ship as in institutions of learning. Do you wish to accept the invitation, Mr. Scott?" asked the commander.
"I should be exceedingly happy to do so."
"Then ask Mr. Boulong's permission."
"Granted!" shouted the first officer, who stood within hearing.
"Mr. Bland, give my compliments to Captain Sharp, and inform him that his invitation is unanimously accepted by both passengers and guests, and we will be on board at five o'clock," said Captain Ringgold, addressing the officer from the Blanche; and he went over the side into his boat.
"You don't give us much time to get ready, Mr. Commander," said Mrs. Belgrave, as all the ladies hurried away to the cabin to prepare for the grand occasion that had so suddenly dawned upon them.
"Elaborate toilets are hardly expected at sea, out of sight of land. Claw-hammer coats are not imperative, gentlemen," said the captain.
Though the two steamers were not in a hurry, both of them resumed their course as soon as the Blanche's boat was hoisted up to the davits; for it is part of the shipmaster's gospel to "keep moving" under all possible circumstances, and to lose no time in arriving at his destined port. All the passengers went below to prepare for the dinner. The Blanche had come within fifty yards of her consort, as the sea was quite smooth.