He had been measuring the captain all the morning; not for the size of his body, as the skipper did the defaulter, but for the quality of his temper; and he was sure he was a bully, from the way he treated Pollish and the cook. He had a good deal of sympathy with the steward, for he knew he had been misjudged, though he had told some abominable lies. He even felt, that, if he could keep out of the captain’s clutches till after dark, he might be able to come out of his hiding-place, and make friends with Pollish; for that worthy would not care to have him tell the captain that the yacht was deserted when he came on board of her at dark the evening before. The steward would have a motive for protecting him; and he was not human if he did not look out for himself. Wade pushed all the garments out to the front of the berth, except the one he was lying upon; and he would have done the same by that if he could have done it without making too much noise. But Capt. Bendig had not yet found the one he wanted. He stooped down, and reached into the space beneath the berth; and Wade felt his big hand upon him. It was with the greatest effort that he prevented himself from crying out. “What under the light of the moon is beneath this berth?” muttered the captain, as he evidently felt something that was not wholly in the woollen-goods line, but without knowing exactly what it was. Capt. Bendig began to get down on his knees so that he could see as well as feel what was under the berth. But it was beginning to be dark in the room, though it was only four in the afternoon; but the apartment never had much light. The searcher was not satisfied with his means of observation; and it is possible he suspected something that did not belong there was concealed beneath the berth. “Pollish!” he called. “Here, sir!” replied the steward, who always seemed to be at hand when he was not asleep. “Bring me a light, and don’t be more than a second about it,” said the captain, with a ripple of excitement in his tones. Pollish lighted the lamp that swung on gimbals in the state-room, and then took it from its place, handing it to the skipper. Wade felt that his hour had come, and it was useless to hope for any thing to turn up in his favor; it was “just his luck,” and he could only make the best of it. But he saw that nothing was to be made by being humble and submissive to a man like Capt. Bendig, who was a brute and a tyrant by nature, though he was doubtless a very good seaman, and was very attentive to his duty. Wade determined to keep a “stiff upper lip,” and he hoped he might interest the passengers in his fate. With the lamp in his hand, the captain began to stoop down again. He pulled away the garments he had drawn from their resting-place, so that he could see under the berth. “Is this the coat you want?” asked Wade, tossing the one he had been lying upon out into the room. [Illustration: “IS THIS THE COAT YOU WANT?” ASKED WADE.--Page 170.]