“But if it wasn’t a vessel?” he persisted.  “It might be an iceberg, or a rock, or even a derelict.”

“In that case,” I said, putting it a bit flippantly, naturally, “we’d probably damage it.”

He made no answer to this and for a few moments, we were quiet.

Then he spoke abruptly, as though the idea had come suddenly to him.

“Those lights the other night!” he said.  “Were they a ship’s lights?”

“Yes,” I replied.  “Why?”

“Why,” he answered.  “Don’t you see, if they were really lights, we could see them?”

“Well, I should think I ought to know that,” I replied.  “You seem to forget that the Second Mate slung me off the look-out for daring to do that very thing.”

“I don’t mean that,” he said.  “Don’t you see that if we could see them at all, it showed that the atmosphere-thing wasn’t round us then?”

“Not necessarily,” I answered.  “It may have been nothing more than a rift in it; though, of course, I may be all wrong.  But, anyway, the fact that the lights disappeared almost as soon as they were seen, shows that it was very much round the ship.”

That made him feel a bit the way I did, and when next he spoke, his tone had lost its hopefulness.

“Then you think it’ll be no use telling the Second Mate and the Skipper anything?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” I replied.  “I’ve been thinking about it, and it can’t do any harm.  I’ve a very good mind to.”

“I should,” he said.  “You needn’t be afraid of anybody laughing at you, now.  It might do some good.  You’ve seen more than anyone else.”

He stopped in his walk, and looked round.

“Wait a minute,” he said, and ran aft a few steps.  I saw him look up at the break of the poop; then he came back.

“Come along now,” he said.  “The Old Man’s up on the poop, talking to the Second Mate.  You’ll never get a better chance.”

Still I hesitated; but he caught me by the sleeve, and almost dragged me to the lee ladder.

“All right,” I said, when I got there.  “All right, I’ll come.  Only I’m hanged if I know what to say when I get there.”

“Just tell them you want to speak to them,” he said.  “They’ll ask what you want, and then you spit out all you know.  They’ll find it interesting enough.”

“You’d better come too,” I suggested.  “You’ll be able to back me up in lots of things.”

“I’ll come, fast enough,” he replied.  “You go up.”

I went up the ladder, and walked across to where the Skipper and the Second Mate stood talking earnestly, by the rail.  Tammy kept behind.  As I came near to them, I caught two or three words; though I attached no meaning then to them.  They were:  “...send for him.”  Then the two of them turned and looked at me, and the Second Mate asked what I wanted.

“I want to speak to you and the Old M—­Captain, Sir,” I answered.