WHAT STEVE SAW Waiting was weary work after that.

It was two hours and a half to sunrise and, since two of their number were sufficient to keep watch, the others presently went below and napped.

Steve and Bert Alley remained on deck.

Steve, although he perhaps needed sleep more than anyone, refused to trust other eyes than his own, and while darkness lasted he watched the white path cast across the water by the _Adventurer's_ searchlight.

But darkness and silence held until shortly after four, when the eastern sky began to lighten.