She had begun to study navigation more to pass the long and dreary days than from any other motive; she applied herself to it now more ardently. And she began, at the same time, to study the men about her; to weigh them; to consider their fitness for the responsibilities that must fall upon them. The fo'm'st hands, and particularly the mates, she weighed in the balance. The mates, and above all Dan'l Tobey. For if Noll were to go, Dan'l, by all the ancient laws of the sea, would become master of the ship; and their destinies would lie in his hands.... Short of the Solander Grounds, they struck good whaling, and lingered for a time; and day by day the tuns and casks were filled, and the _Sally_ sank lower in the water with her increasing load. They were two-thirds full, and not yet two years out. Good whaling.... At dinner in the cabin one day, Dan'l Tobey said to Faith: "You've brought us good luck, Faith, by coming along, this cruise. We never did much better, since I've been with Cap'n Wing." Faith looked to Noll. Noll was eating slowly, paying them no attention. Silence was falling upon the captain in those days, like a foreshadowing of the great silence into which he would presently depart. He said nothing; so Faith said: "Yes. We've done well.... I'm glad." Old James Tichel looked slyly from face to face. "And the 'gris, stowed below us here, will make it a fine fat cruise for old Jonathan Felt when we come home," he chuckled. At the mention of the ambergris, a little silence fell. Brander was at the table, Brander and the others. Dan'l and Willis Cox and young Roy Kilcup looked at Brander, as though expecting him to speak. He said nothing, and old Tichel, gnawing at his food, chuckled again, as though pleased with what he had said. The ambergris, so rich a treasure in so small a bulk, had never been forgotten for a minute by any man in the cabin; nor by Faith. But they had not spoken of it of late; there was nothing to be said, and there was danger in the saying. It was as well that it be forgotten until they were home again.... There were too many chances for trouble in the stuff.... When Brander did not speak, however, Dan'l gently prodded him. He said to Tichel: "You're forgetting that Mr. Brander claims it for his own." Tichel chuckled again. "Oh, aye, I was forgetting that small matter," he agreed. "My memory is very short at times." Still Brander said nothing. Dan'l looked toward him. "I'll be warrant Mr. Brander does not forget," he said. Brander looked toward Dan'l, and he smiled amiably. "Thank you," he told the mate. "Keep me reminded. It had all but slipped from my mind." There was so much hostility in the air, in the slow words of the men, that Faith said quietly: "We'll be on the Solander, soon. I'm looking forward to that, Dan'l. You've seen the Rock?"