For the next three or four days everything went smoothly and nothing unusual happened.  During this time we all got settled down into our regular jobs; and in spare moments the Doctor showed each of us how to take our turns at the wheel, the proper manner of keeping a ship on her right course, and what to do if the wind changed suddenly.  We divided the twenty-four hours of the day into three spells; and we took it in turns to sleep our eight hours and be awake sixteen.  So the ship was well looked after, with two of us always on duty.

Besides that, Polynesia, who was an older sailor than any of us, and really knew a lot about running ships, seemed to be always awake—­ except when she took her couple of winks in the sun, standing on one leg beside the wheel.  You may be sure that no one ever got a chance to stay abed more than his eight hours while Polynesia was around.  She used to watch the ship’s clock; and if you overslept a half-minute, she would come down to the cabin and peck you gently on the nose till you got up.

I very soon grew to be quite fond of our funny black friend Bumpo, with his grand way of speaking and his enormous feet which some one was always stepping on or falling over.  Although he was much older than I was and had been to college, he never tried to lord it over me.  He seemed to be forever smiling and kept all of us in good humor.  It wasn’t long before I began to see the Doctor’s good sense in bringing him—­in spite of the fact that he knew nothing whatever about sailing or travel.

On the morning of the fifth day out, just as I was taking the wheel over from the Doctor, Bumpo appeared and said,

“The salt beef is nearly all gone, Sir.”

“The salt beef!” cried the Doctor.  “Why, we brought a hundred and twenty pounds with us.  We couldn’t have eaten that in five days.  What can have become of it?”

“I don’t know, Sir, I’m sure.  Every time I go down to the stores I find another hunk missing.  If it is rats that are eating it, then they are certainly colossal rodents.”

Polynesia who was walking up and down a stay-rope taking her morning exercise, put in,

“We must search the hold.  If this is allowed to go on we will all be starving before a week is out.  Come downstairs with me, Tommy, and we will look into this matter.”

So we went downstairs into the store-room and Polynesia told us to keep quite still and listen.  This we did.  And presently we heard from a dark corner of the hold the distinct sound of someone snoring.

“Ah, I thought so,” said Polynesia.  “It’s a man—­and a big one.  Climb in there, both of you, and haul him out.  It sounds as though he were behind that barrel—­Gosh!  We seem to have brought half of Puddleby with us.  Anyone would think we were a penny ferry-boat.  Such cheek!  Haul him out.”

So Bumpo and I lit a lantern and climbed over the stores.  And there, behind the barrel, sure enough, we found an enormous bearded man fast asleep with a well-fed look on his face.  We woke him up.