The storm presently lost its fury; in a half hour it was gone, and full light came to show us the Orion with her foresail in shreds.
And so it is now that Wayne will take up the story again.
CHAPTER XV
AN EXCHANGE OF PRISONS
Ray and I were escorted down the companionway into the cabin of the Orion, and were thrust into a room on the port side. A pair of blacks cut away the cords from our arms; and when they went out we heard a bolt pushed home in the door.
"We travel in style," observed Ray, surveying the pair of bunks, one above the other. "Let's see," he continued, "does your ticket call for an upper or a lower?"
A small, round, glazed porthole gave light, and a porcelain wash-bowl with faucets was fixed in the wall.
"And even a bathtub," said Ray, fingering the piece. "It's almost like being back on the Pearl again."
We were waited on by the blacks, who brought our food. The day passed uneventfully; though we spent much time at the porthole (which we finally succeeded to open, or we must have stifled) we saw not so much as a sail, nor a glimpse of the land. This last would be explained either on the score that the island lay on the other—the starboard—side, or that the Orion had sailed out of view of the land. She might even be on a course to the west, going back home again, now. It was not till the stars were out that this point was settled. It was by those twinklers we learned we were on an eastern course.