"Why, surely you are going to have lookouts stationed on deck?" said
Elizabeth.

"Not at all," said Mrs. Noah. "Perfectly absurd. We never did it on the
Ark, and it isn't necessary now. I want you all to go to bed at ten
o'clock. I don't think the night air is good for you. Besides, it isn't
proper for a woman to be out after dark, whether she's new or not."

"But, my dear Mrs. Noah," expostulated Cleopatra, "what will become of the
ship?"

"I guess she'll float through the night whether we are on deck or not,"
said the commander. "The Ark did, why not this? Now, girls, these
new-fangled yachting notions are all nonsense. It's night, and there's a
fog as thick as a stone-wall all about us. If there were a hundred of you
upon deck with ten eyes apiece, you couldn't see anything. You might much
better be in bed. As your captain, chaperon, and grandmother, I command
you to stay below."

"But--who is to steer?" queried Xanthippe.

"What's the use of steering until we can see where to steer to?" demanded
Mrs. Noah. "I certainly don't intend to bother with that tiller until some
reason for doing it arises. We haven't any place to steer to yet; we don't
know where we are going. Now, my dear children, be reasonable, and don't
worry me. I've had a very hard day of it, and I feel my responsibilities
keenly. Just let me manage, and we'll come out all right. I've had more
experience than any of you, and if--"