The two men worked steadily and cheerily over the fish, sorting and dressing and packing them in salt, only leaving off long enough to eat some bread and cheese with dry salt codfish.

"Come, boys, dinner's ready. Step up and help yourselves," said the captain, with his mouth full of bread and cheese, which he had made into a sandwich for convenience and speed.

"We don't feel hungry," answered Ben, looking out from the blanket long enough to see that the captain was complacently munching his food as he sat astride of the board on which he had been dressing the fish.

"Don't feel hungry! That's queer. I do, now. This salt air ought to make you eat like a shark," exclaimed the captain, as he set his teeth through an enormous piece of dried cod. "I'm hungry enough to eat those mackerel raw, if there was nothing else handy."

"Oh, don't!" groaned Ralph, crawling further under the blanket, and feeling his stomach rise up and roll over uneasily.

All the afternoon the fishermen worked over their "catch," and the boys did not venture out from their retreat until a great splashing of water told them that Marcus was washing the deck. Then they began to look around and breathe in the sea air, that seemed to bring a revival of spirits to the boys.

Before supper-time another school of mackerel came by, and the lines were again thrown out, and lively work recommenced.

The two boys watched the sport as the men tended their lines so dexterously, going from one to another, and keeping a fish in the air continually, as Ben said.

This was exciting enough to make even Ralph forget his sea-sickness for the time; but when the "school" had passed, the work of dressing mackerel began again, and this was not at all soothing to disturbed stomachs.

"Let's go to bed, and get out of this, Ben," exclaimed Ralph in disgust.

"All right."

They tiptoed by the pile of fish that were still flapping feebly, and looked down into the cabin. It was not an inviting place, and Ralph hesitated.

"Going to turn in, boys?" asked the captain, thrusting his knife into a fish before he looked up.

"Yes, we thought of it."

"Without any supper? That will never do. Help yourselves in there. The biscuit-barrel's in the corner, and the codfish hangs right over it. Eat a good meal, and you'll feel better. There ain't nothin' equal to dry codfish for turning sea-sickness."

"Thanks; but we don't feel hungry," said Ben.

"That's queer. It beats me how anybody can be out to sea and not feel hungry! Well, a night's rest will make you better, like as not. You'll sleep like a couple of tops; that is, if you've got good clean consciences afore God."

The boys made no reply.

"I hope you have. It's bad work being out to sea, or anywhere else, for that matter, with anything lying heavy on your conscience. Now, I don't pretend to be any guide for any one. I'm bad enough myself; but I always says every night, 'Just look me over, Lord, and if there is any bad in me'--and of course I know there is plenty of it--'forgive it, and help me to start better to-morrow.' It's mighty comfortin' for me to know that He sees that I mean fairer than I do."

After these remarks the captain finished dressing the fish he held on the board, and the boys disappeared down the short flight of steps leading into the cabin.

It was a close place there, and filled with odours of fish; in fact the whole vessel seemed to be stuccoed with fish-scales.

"Are we first or second cabin passengers, Ralph?" asked Ben laughingly, "or are we steerage?"

"Steerage, sure enough!"

"Well, it isn't the worst place that ever was. I'd rather be here than outside there in the sea, with a shark after me," continued Ben, who was far more inclined than Ralph to be jolly under difficulties.

"Bad as it is, I'd rather be here than on the island camping out, with Joe Chester left behind," said Ralph.

"Yes, of course you would. If I had my fiddle here I'd cheer you up; that is, if I didn't feel kind of gone about my own stomach." And Ben sat down suddenly on the captain's green chest in the corner, looking very pale.

It was Ralph's turn now to wait upon him, and putting his head out of the door he shouted, "Captain, where shall we sleep?"

"Oh, anywhere you've a mind to. Take the bunks if you want to. Marcus and I'll look out for ourselves."

Ralph looked sharply at the rough bed, and said, "It isn't a royal couch, but tumble in, Ben." Ben was too sick to care where he went, and letting Ralph pull off his boots and coat, he literally tumbled in, as requested.

Whether it was a lack of good consciences that the old captain had spoken of, or the strangeness of their situation, or the awful sea-sickness, the boys could not sleep. They lay and tossed in their cl............