The New York sky-line, as seen from the river, is one of the wonders of the world, and I stood looking at it until we swung out into the bay. There were two other men on board--the regular ship reporters, I suppose--and Godfrey had gone into the cabin with them to talk over some detail of the evening's work; so I went forward to the bow, where I would get the full benefit of the salt breeze, with the taste of it on my lips. The Statue of Liberty was just ahead, and already the great search-light in her torch was winking across the water. Craft innumerable crossed and re-crossed, their lights reflected in the waves, and far ahead, a little to the left, I could see the white glow against the sky which marked the position of Coney Island. Godfrey joined me presently, and we stood for some time looking at this scene in silence. "It's a great sight, isn't it?" he said, at last. "Hello! look at that boat!" he added, as a yacht, coming down the bay, drew abreast of us and then slowly forged ahead. "She can go some, can't she? This boat of ours is no slouch, you know; but just look how that one walks away from us. I wonder who she is? What boat is that, captain?" he called to the man on the bridge. "Don't know, sir," answered the captain, after a look through his glasses. "Private yacht--can't make out her name--there's a flag or something hanging over the stern. She's flying the French flag. There come the other press boats behind us, sir," he added. "And there's the _Savoie_ just slowing down at quarantine." Far ahead we could see the great hull of the liner, dark against the horizon, and crowned with row upon row of glowing lights. "One doesn't appreciate how big those boats are until one sees them from the water," I remarked. "Isn't she immense?" "And yet she's not an especially big boat, either," said Godfrey. "To swing in under the really big ones--like the _Olympic_--is an experience to remember." The _Savoie_ had by this time slowed down until she was just holding her own against the tide, and one of her lower ports swung open. A moment later, a boat puffed up beside her, made fast, and three or four men clambered aboard and disappeared through the port. "There go the doctors," said Godfrey. "And there is that French boat going alongside." The tug from quarantine dropped astern and the French yacht took her place. After a short colloquy, one man from her was helped aboard the _Savoie_. Then it was our turn, and after what seemed to me a tremendous swishing and swirling at imminent risk of collision, we swung up to the open port, a line was flung out and made fast, and a moment later Godfrey and I and the other two men were aboard the liner.