At this moment the vessel experienced a slight shock, and the dining saloon seemed to rise on a long and gentle undulation, and as gently to sink to an appreciable depth. The motion continued regularly for a few minutes, and Captain Huxley glanced keenly at the guests at his table, with a barely perceptible smile on his face.
A puzzled and rather serious expression came over the faces of several of those at breakfast. Suddenly, Dick exclaimed:
“We’re losing a good deal of this scenery,” and passed out on the deck, to be followed almost immediately by Pepper and Don. The Boy Scouts had met with a new sensation.
CHAPTER III.
INTO ROUGH WATERS.
The Boy Scouts of Creston, although expert in nearly all water sports, and familiar with the gently flowing Hudson, and the quiet inland tides of bay and Sound, had had no experience as yet of ocean travel. The Alaska trip was the first test of their sailor-like qualities. In the “Inside passage” are two stretches of twenty and forty miles, where the full sweep of the Pacific rollers is felt, and it was while crossing one of these stretches that the “Queen” took on those erratic motions that sent Dick Pepper and Don to the open air so quickly and caused not a few of their fellow travelers considerable discomfort.
Strange as it may seem, none of the other boys were affected by the rough waters, and they quickly followed their chums to the deck to offer aid and comfort. It has always been one of the peculiarities of seasickness that, however important and serious it may seem to the victim, it is prone to arouse ridicule and humorous suggestions in those who are not subject to its attacks, and while Rand, Jack and Gerald did what they could for their unfortunate companions, they could not resist the temptation of an occasional sly reference to their chums’ poor qualities as sailors, that under any other circumstances would have driven the combative Pepper frantic.
“Wa’ yo tellin’ me, hoeny, tha’ wa’ some great scenery, ovah da’?” suggested Rand, falling into a broad Southern dialect that he used at times.