THE SINKING YACHT Lying there motionless, yet wide awake, his senses alert, every slightest sound and movement made clearer the situation.

He could feel the laboured efforts of the vessel, the slap of waves against the side, the rush of water astern.

Occasionally the echo of a voice reached him from the deck above, and once footsteps were audible almost over his head.

The engine strokes were regular, but slow, the vibrations shaking the boat in its sturdy battling against the forces of the sea.

The _Seminole_ rolled heavily, yet there was nothing at all alarming in her actions, and West felt no premonition of illness, or fear as to the sea-worthiness of the little craft.