After lunch the patient Captain Eaton spent most of the afternoon showing the boys more of the ship. They saw the gym and swimming pool and the library filled with many recording tapes and films. There were also books for those who preferred reading instead of reclining in a soft contour chair and listening to tapes over earphones.
As they passed from one section to another, Garry noticed that the indirect daylight effect, that filled every part of the Carefree, was fading steadily but slowly. He asked the captain about this.
“It’s an automatic control that helps put us in the mood for night,” the skipper said. “Remember my telling you about how much better man works in a properly spaced twenty-four-hour day? Soon now, the main lights will be very low, with only an occasional lamp making things bright. It is just like the coming of night back at home. You will see.”
The space travelers had only a light snack for dinner because of the big meal earlier in the day. Soon afterward, the boys began to yawn and get sleepy as they watched the artificial daylight continue to fade. They were looking forward to sleeping lying down for a change.
“Your minds are telling you it’s time for bed, eh?” Captain Eaton said with a laugh. “Well, so is mine. I still haven’t shown you the observatory, which is my favorite spot aboard ship. But that can wait until tomorrow. Let’s go to the dorm and get you two settled before the fellows in there are ready to turn out the lights.”
The boys found all the people they had met today getting ready for bed. That is, all but two of them.
“Mac is on pilot duty, isn’t he, Captain?” Garry asked. “But where is Ben?”
Captain Eaton was pulling off his shiny boots. He may have been the boss of the Carefree, with all the say-so, but he was not too proud to share the same sleeping quarters with those whom he called his “friends.”
“There are always two on duty at night, Garry,” Captain Eaton replied to Garry’s question. “One acts as pilot, while the other makes the rounds several times a night to be sure that the automatic controls are functioning properly. We all take turns sharing these duties.”
When everyone had climbed into his bunk and pulled the covers up, Captain Eaton called out from his own bunk, “Check?”