wily sea, which smacked the rudder hard and nearly spun the wheel out
of his grip. "Stop talking, will you!" roared Dan, wrestling at the
spokes. "Do you want me to put you all into the trough?"

Mulhatton, the mate, stumbled into the pilot-house and glared at the
cook.

"Artie," he cried, "you go below, or I'll just gently heft you down! I
went in to git grub just now and 't was all on the floor. Go on
now--git!" And Arthur went, grumbling and sighing that a man's stomach
should govern his temper.

"Take the wheel a while, Cap'n?" said the mate; and as Dan nodded he
stepped in close, braced his feet, and took the strain as Dan's hands
left the spokes.

"We'll both be on the wheel together before long," remarked Dan,
sitting heavily on the chart locker and opening and shutting his
stiffened fingers.

"Where is she and what's ashore?" asked Mulhatton. "You jumped us out
in such a hurry this morning, I ain't had time to ask you."

"It's an old lumber hooker, and she's ashore on Jones Inlet bar;
stranded just before midnight last night. Lord knows how much there is
left of her by this time. But I took it a good salvage job to go
after. Cripes!" The _Fledgling_ on her altered course had topped a
wave forward, which wave, travelling swiftly aft, had withdrawn from
the bow the support of its mighty shoulder. Down went the bow with a
great slap and up went the stern, screw racing and racking the engines,