"We are all under suspicion," I admitted. "But you had threatened
the captain."

"I never threatened the girl, or Mr. Vail."

I had no answer to this, and we both fell silent. Singleton was the
first to speak:--

"How are you going to get back? The men can sail a course, but who
is to lay it out? Turner? No Turner ever knew anything about a
ship but what it made for him."

"Turner is sick. Look here, Singleton, you want to get back as much
as we do, or more. Wouldn't you be willing to lay a course, if you
were taken out once a day? Burns is doing it, but he doesn't pretend
to know much about it, and--we have the bodies."

But he turned ugly again, and refused to help unless he was given
his freedom, and that I knew the crew would not agree to.

"You'll be sick enough before you get back!" he snarled.




CHAPTER XIII

THE WHITE LIGHT