Page:Dick Hamilton's Steam Yacht.djvu/149

Rh "Oh, so-so. Does it bother you?" asked Dick, from his stateroom.

"Not a bit. I've got my sea legs on now, and I feel fine. I'm going on deck for a breath of air. Come along."

They dressed hastily and, followed by the other lads, ascended the companionway, not without some difficulty, for at times the Albatross seemed trying to stand on her beams' ends, while at others she appeared to want to plunge to the bottom of the sea.

"It's some rough," remarked Paul Drew, as he clung to the handrail.

"But the boat seems to go right through it," added the young owner, proudly.

Once they poked their heads outside they were made aware that there was plenty of what sailors call "dirty" weather. There was a strong wind blowing, and a rain was falling, being driven sharply into the faces of the lads, while the spume and spray from, the sea, with its tang of saltiness, soon made their cheeks feel as though they had on thin masks of brine.

"Oilskins and sou'westers to-day," remarked Dick, as he dodged back inside, almost wet through from a brief dash across the deck.

"It'll be stay below for mine," decided Frank Bender. "I can practise some of my new motions without much effort. All I'll have to do is to stand still and be tossed about."

"Yes, stand on your head in the dishpan,