"But the Hole--?"

"That's the name of a passage between Great Abaco Island and Eleuthera,
in the West Indies," the sailor replied. "I don't know why it's called
that, but it is."

"A queer name," murmured Ruth.

"Go on, please," urged Alice.

"Well, I was second mate aboard a five masted schooner engaged in the
lumber business," went on Jack Jepson. "We were going down to South
America, in ballast t' bring back a cargo of hard woods, an' off the
Hole in the Wall th' trouble started.

"Some of the crew kicked on account of the grub--that's the stuff we
eat on a ship," he explained.

"Oh, we know _something_ of such talk," said Alice with a laugh. "We
haven't been out West among the cowboys for nothing!"

"Well, some of th' hands laid it to the grub, an' others t' th' hard
work of sailing th' craft," went on Jack. "She was a mighty poor
schooner in ballast, an' owing t' storms an' rough weather we had t' be
takin' in or lettin' out reefs all th' while. It wasn't so bad up t' th'
time we got off th' Hole in th' Wall, but from then on it was fierce!

"I'd heard rumors that th' crew was goin' t' mutiny an' demand that we
put in at some port, an' get better grub, an' more hands, for we was