"That looks favorable; and if there is any current to speak of, it runs in the direction of the monsoons, and therefore will not be likely to cause heavy winds."
"If I thought the trip was a very dangerous one, I certainly should not propose to make it," added the captain.
"Fish!" shouted Clingman at the wheel.
In spite of their interest in the discussion, all the party rushed forward at this cry. The captain ordered the wheelman to stop her, though her headway kept her moving for some minutes after the screw ceased to revolve. The men baited the hooks as soon as fish were indicated. The boat had reached the locality where the catch of the day before had been obtained, and all hands were on the lookout. The lines were thrown over, and the fish bit quickly as soon as the steamer was at rest. In half an hour they had taken seven.
"Keep her moving, Clingman," said Captain Scott, as the party hurried back to the cabin to continue the discussion.
Pitts dressed the fish, and put them in the ice-chest. Achang had completed the skinning of the orang, and the skin was now drying in the sun. The voyage to Siam or Cambodia looked very much like an adventure, and the young men were deeply interested in it.
"I don't think we are likely to encounter any very heavy weather in the western part of the China Sea," said Captain Scott, as he put his pencil on the chart again. "We may be overhauled by a typhoon."
"And what is a typhoon?" asked Felix. "I know it is some sort of a storm, and that is all I do know."
"There are different names for a storm in different parts of the earth," replied Scott. "What is a hurricane in the West Indies is a cyclone in the northern part of the Indian Ocean, and a typhoon in the China Sea. They are all alike in substance, being revolving storms, in which the wind whirls around in a circle, and at the same time has a forward movement as a whole towards some point of the compass. But there are various signs which indicate the approach of a typhoon or a hurricane; and in these seas the barometer has to be watched constantly."
"I suppose we should be out of sight of land about all the time on the passage," suggested Morris.