CHAPTER XII





In the course of the afternoon, having chewed the bitter cud of
reflection and reviewed his situation from every possible angle, Mike
Murphy came to the conclusion that, for all Terence Reardon's
religious backsliding, he might be fairly honest in money matters and
possessed of a sense of loyalty where his owners' interests were
concerned. Also, having found Herr von Staden bluffing in one instance
it occurred to the captain he might be discovered bluffing in
another--so he resolved to investigate. Accordingly at an hour when he
knew Terence should be in the engine room he took up the speaking-tube
at the head of his bed and blew into it. But no shrill whistle
signalled his desire in the engine room, and though Michael blew until
he was red in the face and his lips hurt him cruelly, reluctantly he
came to the conclusion that Herr August Carl von Staden had the
situation very well in hand and Terence Reardon in the latter's
state-room under lock and key.

He was right in one particular: von Staden had the situation very well
in hand, but he did not have Terence Reardon under lock and key.
Murphy had been balked in making connections with the unsuspecting
Terence for the reason that a little ball of cotton waste had very
carefully been tucked into the engine-room howler a few inches at the
back of the whistle at the chief's end of the tube. Hence, in the
event that one sought to whistle up the other, he merely wasted his
breath. Having learned, on the very excellent authority of both men in