Towards evening the boat came back, and several large canoes plied back and forth from the shore bringing copra to the schooner. Our own boat took our water-kegs and filled up, returning several times to the shore until our tank and water butts on deck were full.
Mrs. Dane made no attempt to go ashore, nor (that I saw) did she speak again to Mr. Chris, who was hurrying about the decks for the rest of the day.
Towards evening the glass began to fall, and a low bank of dark clouds appeared along the horizon. Mr. Chris looked at it several times, and seemed very uneasy. At last he sent word to the captain by the water-boat, drawing his attention to the change, and got word back to haul the schooner outside the reef and have everything ready for sea.
"I'm not going below tonight," Mrs. Dane said to the mate, after she had watched us haul out, and the anchor was down.
It was stiflingly hot, and the atmosphere seemed leaden and thick. "I'll have my bed brought up on deck under the awning."
"Very well, m'm," said the mate.
It was getting dark rapidly, but as yet there was no sign of the captain. Mrs. Dane went below and changed to a thin white wrapper, and then came on deck and lay down on her mattress and apparently fell asleep—for when at last the captain did come on board she never stirred, nor did she wake with the noise of our getting our boat in over the side.
"You'd better get under weigh and out of this place as soon as you can, Mr. Chris."
"Aye, aye, sir" The mate came forward and we soon had the chain hove short and set our canvas aft. Then we hove up, cabled the anchor and got the jib and staysail on her, but she made no way through the water and hardly steered.
It was my wheel. The captain looked at his sleeping wife, and then stretched himself out in her deck-
