Ensign Merrill — page 124: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

with the ship. They were in a rather dangerous locality, and the Badger’s speed had been reduced until _ ghe barely moved through the water. A man was sta- _ tioned on each end of the bridge heaving the lead. Every few minutes a cast was made, and the results, given ina low tone, were eagerly listened to by Mark and the rest. At the ensign’s request Miller stationed himself close to the bow. His long experience at sea had made him a very reliable man in many ways, and, as a lookout, he was almost infallible. As he quaintly remarked, he ‘could smell terra firma farther than landlubbers could see it.’’ Lhe threatened rain still held off, but there was every reason to expect it before daylight, if the wind did not take a sudden shift. The murky blackness of the night had not lessened in its intensity, and it was hardly pos- sible to see ten feet away. The young commander noted with satisfaction, however, that the aneroid barometer in the pilot-house showed no sign of fall- ing. After steaming slowly in a westerly direction for an hour, Mark decided to anchor until morn- ing. It was running too much risk, this wandering about a comparatively unknown locality with two islands but a few miles away. The last cast of the lead had shown good holding ground at twenty fathoms, so, after seeing all clear forward, the heavy mass of iron was dropped off the bow. The running lights had been taken in just after the fight with the junk, as Merrill wished to conceal his whereabouts from the enemy. He now ordered all lights extinguished, with the exception of one hidden from view in the chart-room. The Badger swung quietly at anchor, invisible in the darkness, and appar- MORE OF THE ENEMY. eg ently cailgem But there were watchful eyes both fore nnn <2 comicbooks.co mn “ — a ite