Page:The Great Secret.djvu/85

Rh compass, chronometer and charts, summing up rapidly and with ready confidence that admitted of no possible doubt about the correctness of his calculations. He had never been in those waters before, and knew the island he was after, only from reading about it, but that was a trifle to his sublime conceit. He had promised to find it, as the great Corsican had promised to subdue the land of the Pharaohs and Russia, and to will was to accomplish with this dauntless sailor.

"These John Bulls are slow; they ruminate like the cows; they have no genius, no decision. They are on the rocks before they can tell where they are—bah! Two minutes suffices for me to point out where we are. Observe we are now in latitude so-and-so, longitude this—our island lies over there, one thousand five hundred and thirty-four leagues from here, and we are going there as straight as an arrow. Let us enjoy a game at cards."

All easy and confident master, careless and undisciplined men, the watches became mere pretexts, for each man was an independent Anarchist, and to wash too often either their own free persons or the decks a degradation to such lovers of universal liberty and equality.

Captain Nelson and those who were hiding with him found it an easy matter to evade those confident murderers. He groaned as he saw the slatternly state of his once trim ship decks, where men flung the debris of their feasts with prodigal and reckless carelessness. They liked to have their tiffin and breakfast on deck, and did not trouble much where they poured the dregs of their coffee cups, wine glasses, or leavings of dishes, for the men now acting as cooks and stewards were comrades, and not servants.