"Perhaps he thinks I am asleep and doesn't want to disturb me," thought the drowsy man, and, without attempting to fix the intruder's identity, he lay still, apathetically watching the other's movements.
The intruder crossed the cabin silently yet without hesitation. He stood at the writing-desk for a brief instant and then withdrew.
"'Spose it's Anstey with a chit," decided Captain Bullock, and, satisfied with his own explanation, he fell asleep.
At 6 a.m. the Chief Steward mustered his staff preparatory to the usual routine. There was an absentee: the Captain's steward.
"Anyone seen Wilkins?" demanded the Chief Steward.
No one had. Some one dispassionately volunteered the information that Wilkin's bunk had not been slept in. Men roused from slumber to perform the irksome routine are apt to be apathetic before breakfast.
The Chief Steward dismissed his staff to their various duties, and proceeded to search for the missing man.
He found Wilkins fully dressed and fast asleep on the floor of the pantry. On a shelf stood an empty tumbler that smelt of whisky.
The Chief Steward stirred the sleeping man with his boot.
"Come along," he exclaimed. "Show a leg, there! Skipper's waiting to be called."