“I do hope we can.” And Sidney looked somewhat relieved. They were two rather dejected boys, however, who turned back to the docks with Captain Foster. It was very hard to be obliged to give up all present thought of communicating with their mother. It seemed ages since they said good-bye to her in New York. The anticipation of sending a message had been so pleasant, and when that hope was suddenly dashed, their loneliness and homesickness were greater than ever. When they arrived at the docks the boys saw a small, dingy steamer, that ordinarily would have appeared anything but attractive, but to the boys then she seemed finer than a big Atlantic liner. They were taken on board, and were shown to a tiny cubby-hole of a cabin that adjoined the captain’s own stateroom. “This is not much of a cabin,”--and the captain looked about apologetically,--“but, you see, the Princess Mary was not intended to carry passengers.” “Oh, I think it’s fine,” protested Sidney; and Raymond declared,-- “It’s perfectly swell! You may have the lower berth, Sid, and I’ll take the upper one.” When the boys had thrown their blankets into the berths, the captain said,-- “Now, you come into my cabin; I’ve got a tub there, and I’ll have the cook bring you some hot water, and you can scrub as long as you want to.” “It’s good of you, Captain Foster,” said Sidney, “to let us use your bath.” “Well, you see, the Princess Mary is not very modern, though she’s as stanch a little craft as was ever built, and she hasn’t got any bathrooms. Now you young gentlemen take your time, and come up on deck when you’re through. I shan’t come down till I see you out there.” Captain Foster’s bath was a funny little short tub that the bather could just sit down in. The boys did not try even to sit down, but stood up, one at a time. There was plenty of water, however, and soap, and the scrubbing that followed was very thorough, and resulted in two well-renovated boys. CHAPTER XX A GREAT DISASTER It had seemed to Sidney and Raymond that they had attained to the height of ease when they boarded the train at Tiflis after their tremendous tramp and were transported without effort on their part. But when the Princess Mary drew away from the pier at Batum and started westward across the Black Sea, the travelers felt that they were then enjoying sublimated luxury. The great sea lay rippling gently under a peaceful autumn sky, and the little steamer drove steadily ahead on a level keel. It was as though they were navigating a small lake. Captain Foster’s cargo consisted wholly of oil, so that he put in at no ports, but made a straight run from Batum to Venice. As the Princess Mary used oil for fuel, her crew was made up chiefly of engineers. There were only four sailors, one of whom was the captain’s first officer, and a cook. The mate, Mr. Wright, sat at the captain’s table, so with the boys there was a nice little party of four.