On the fifth day out it began to grow stormy, and by nightfall it was blowing half a gale. We were now in a warm latitude and the stateroom was suffocating.
"I'm going to stay on deck for some air," said Oliver.
"I am with you," I returned. "I can't stand it when it is so stuffy."
"I understand the barometer is falling rapidly," he went on, as we walked to the deck. "I hope the storm doesn't prove too heavy for us."
"Oh, such a steamer as this can weather almost anything, Oliver. And we have a good many miles of open sea around us, so there is no danger of striking on a rocky coast in the darkness."
We found a comfortable spot on deck and sat down to view the preparations going on to weather the coming gale, or hurricane, as such things are termed in these latitudes.
"It's funny Dan don't come up," mused Oliver presently. "Guess I'll take a look for him."
He sprang up and left me to myself. Satisfied that our seats would still be waiting for us when we should want them, I also arose and strolled to the rail, close to the companionway leading to the steerage.
I had been standing musing for about five minutes when I heard a footstep behind me. Think-
