"Now, you fellows, avast yarning," cautioned Scoutmaster Armitage. "You\'ll all be as limp as rags when it comes to turning out to-morrow."

The buzz of voices from the crowded fo\'c\'sle ceased. Ten boys, packed, like sardines in a triangular compartment twenty feet by ten, had had considerable difficulty in turning in. Each of the iron cots on either side had its blanketed occupant; two Sea Scouts were lying on the floor. It was "sleeping rough" with a vengeance; but, as these conditions were "for this night only ", the youngsters made the best of things and rather enjoyed the situation.

"I hope your cot-lashing\'s strong enough," said Desmond drowsily, addressing Woodleigh, whose hefty person was barely a couple of feet above the speaker. "If that carries away you\'ll flatten me out, old son."

"It\'s all right," rejoined Woodleigh with a yawn. "Night-night, old thing."

In less than a minute Woodleigh was asleep, his example being quickly followed by the rest of the Olivette\'s crew. But not so the three supernumeraries. In strange surroundings they could not help keeping awake.

"What\'s that noise, Desmond?" whispered Hayes. "It sounds like water pouring in. Is she leaking, do you think?"

"No," replied the Patrol Leader. "It\'s the tide rippling past the boat\'s side."

Five minutes later Hayes declared that there was another weird noise.

"Mooring chain rubbing against the boat\'s forefoot," explained Desmond. "For goodness\' sake don\'t keep on chattering. I want to get to sleep."

"It\'s not that I mean," persisted the lad. "There\'s a sort of gnawing sound. Can\'t you hear it?"

"Rats!" ejaculated the Patrol Leader.

Hayes kept silent for a considerable time. He was not altogether sure about the sense in which Desmond had used the word "Rats". He might have meant it as a deprecatory ejaculation. He hoped that he had, because he was afraid of rodents. It was a fear that he had never yet been able to conquer, although in other respects he was a plucky little youngster.

The gnawing sound began again. Hayes, who was sleeping, or rather lying on the floor on top of a number of blankets, realized the possibility of the rat gnawing a hole through the panelling of the fo\'c\'sle. In that case he being on the floor would be the one to be favoured with the brute\'s attention.

Doubling his fist Hayes tried to thump the floor in the hope of scaring the rat. Unfortunately he forgot that the Olivette\'s tenderfoot, little Willis, was occupying a made-up bed close to him. So instead of smiting the board Hayes dealt his opposite number a hefty whack in the ribs.

"What\'s that for?" demanded the astonished Willis, only half awake in spite of the blow.

"Rats," whispered Hayes hoarsely.

"Silly owl!" retorted Willis. "If you are trying to be funny——"

"I\'m not," interposed the other seriously. "There are rats on board. Sorry, I didn\'t mean to biff you. I was trying to scare them away. Listen."

Both lads listened. Beyond the occasional rasp of the mooring-chain and the steady ripple of the wavelets there was silence.

"You\'ve scared it," said Willis at length. "We get a rat on board occasionally—when we are lying alongside a quay. It\'s nothing to make a song about. You\'ll soon get used to it. It\'s in the bilges if it\'s anywhere. No chance of getting in here. \'Sides, the poor blighter would be scared stiff."

The last sentence trailed off almost into an incoherent whisper. Willis was asleep again.

Hayes lay awake listening for quite another half-hour; then, dimly conscious once or twice that the intermittent gnawing was going on, he too fell into a deep sleep.

Suddenly the silence of the confined space was rent by a frenzied yell, followed by a heavy double crash. In an instant every Sea Scout was awake, and a scene of utter confusion followed as the lads barged into each other and tripped over the writhing bodies of their comrades on the floor.

Roused by the uproar the two Scoutmasters hastened from the after-cabin, Mr. Armitage going through the engine-room and by the sliding door leading to the fo\'c\'sle, while Mr. Graham gained the deck, went for\'ard, and reached the hatchway to the Sea Scouts\' sleeping quarters.

Simultaneously both Scoutmasters flashed their electric torches upon the scene.

"Pull yourselves together, lads!" exclaimed Mr. Armitage firmly, although he was............