was keeping the air out, he was driven up to the cockpit. There he
perched himself in one of the four comfortable wicker chairs, placed his
feet on the leather-cushioned seat across the stern and languorously
observed a less fortunate person scrape the deck of a sloop on the far
side of the slip.

Suppose that, while the _Adventurer's_ crew prepares for service, we
have a look over the boat. The _Adventurer_, late the _Cockatoo_, was a
forty-foot V-bottom, military type cruiser, with a nine-foot beam and a
draught of two feet and six inches. Below the water-line she was painted
a dark green. Above it she was freshly, immaculately white as to hull,
while decks and smoke-stack were buff. The exterior bulkheads were of
panelled mahogany, and a narrow strip of mahogany edged the deck. There
was a refreshing lack of gold in sight, and, viewed from alongside, the
_Adventurer_ had a very business-like appearance. As she was of the
raised-deck cabin type, with full head-room everywhere, she stood well
above the water, and the low, sweeping lines that suggest speed were
lacking. But the _Adventurer_ had speed, nevertheless, for under the
bridge deck was a six-cylinder 6x6 Van Lyte engine that could send her
along at twenty miles an hour when necessary. On the stern was the
legend "ADVENTURER: NEW YORK," and the name appeared again on each of
the mahogany boards that housed the sidelights. The cockpit, which was
self-bailing, was roomy enough to accommodate seven persons comfortably.
A broad leather-cushioned seat ran across the stern and there were four
wicker chairs besides. Life preservers were ingeniously strapped under
the chair seats and two others hung at each side of the after cabin
door.

The after cabin, or owner's stateroom, held two extension seats which at
night were converted into wide and comfortable berths. At the forward