It was quite impossible for him to make port. To set the sails,
haul in the brails and bowlines, and at the same time stand at the
helm, was more than any sailor could manage.

There was nothing to b0e done, then, but let the vessel drift,
although he was aware of the fact that she was drifting out to sea.

It would not be true to say that he was pleased, but a pilot is
prepared for anything, and the thought that he might possibly meet
a sailing ship by and by, reassured him. But it was necessary to
show a light and signal.

He made his way towards the kitchen, intending to look for matches
and a lantern. Although the sea was very rough, he noticed that
the ship did not move, a fact which astonished him very much. But
when he came to the mainmast, he was even more astonished to find
himself walking on a parqueted floor, partly covered by a strip
of carpet of a small blue and white checked pattern. He walked and
walked, but still the carpet stretched before him, and still he
came no nearer to the kitchen. It was certainly uncanny, but it
was also amusing, for it was a new experience.

He was a long way off the end of the carpet yet, when he found
himself at the entrance to a passage with brilliantly illuminated
shops on either side. On his right stood a weighing machine and
an automatic figure. Without a moment's hesitation he jumped on the
little platform of the weighing machine and slipped a penny in the
slot. As he was quite sure that he weighed eleven stone, he could
not help smiling when the indicator registered only one. Either
the machine has gone wrong, he thought, or I have been transported