CHAPTER IX

CONCERNING A LONG DRINK The weather continued magnificent. The barometer on the chart-house wall was high and steady, the sea like a sheet of painted glass. On board the _Naomi_ the perfect luxury, the admirable efficiency of the service might have led one to fancy oneself at Cowes but for the boundless expanse of the Pacific surrounding us. The sun-burnt faces, the natty white caps and the spotless white drill of the crew, the brass-work polished until the blaze of the fierce sun upon it made the eyes ache, the…