LN COMMAND. 105

starting to her feet as if she had just detected herself in
an act of wrong doing, she exclaimed:

“T’m afraid I have been asleep.”

«“T reckon you have,’ Ben replied, grimly. “ According
to all appearances it’s been a four-hour nap, which is
about as much rest as the mate of a brig ought to have
at one time.”

“T’ll make amends by taking the wheel while you lie
down a few moments.”

“That kind of an apology is unnecessary, because I
should not be able to go to sleep if I turned in; and it is
enough for me if you have gained some rest. You may
take the helm a few moments, if you will, while I shake
Eliphalet up into cooking condition, for he has n’t shown
his face outside that galley yet. I didn’t dare call him
for fear of awakening you.”

Miss Dunham stepped to the wheel, and Ben went
forward, looking back an instant just as he arrived at
the galley.

He had never seen a prettier picture than that
presented by the young girl, as she stood in a flood of
golden light, the wind tossing her brown hair here and
there until it shone in the sunbeams like films of silk,
her cheeks glowing, her eyes sparkling, and every move-
ment replete with grace and the buoyancy of life.

“Talk about mates!” Ben said to himself. «‘There’s
one any captain would be proud of,” and, thanks to the
charming picture which she presented, his call to the
steward was less harsh than it would have been, for there