Chapter 34 - Page 2

from slumber I found the steersman, in whose hands for the time being
were life and death, sleeping upright against the tiller, as much of
a fixture there, as the open-mouthed dragon rudely carved on our prow.

Were it not, that on board of other vessels, I myself had many a time
dozed at the helm, spite of all struggles, I would have been almost
at a loss to account for this heedlessness in my comrades. But it
seemed as if the mere sense of our situation, should have been
sufficient to prevent the like conduct in all on board our craft.

Samoa's aspect, sleeping at the tiller, was almost appalling. His
large opal eyes were half open; and turned toward the light of the
binnacle, gleamed between the lids like bars of flame. And added to
all, was his giant stature and savage lineaments.

It was in vain, that I remonstrated, begged, or threatened: the
occasional drowsiness of my fellow-voyagers proved incurable. To no
purpose, I reminded my Viking that sleeping in the night-watch in a
craft like ours, was far different from similar heedlessness on board
the Arcturion. For there, our place upon the ocean was always known,
and our distance from land; so that when by night the seamen were
permitted to be drowsy, it was mostly, because the captain well knew
that strict watchfulness could be dispensed with.

Though in all else, the Skyeman proved a most faithful ally, in this
one thing he was either perversely obtuse, or infatuated. Or,
perhaps, finding himself once more in a double-decked craft, which
rocked him as of yore, he was lulled into a deceitful security.

For Samoa, his drowsiness was the drowsiness of one beat on sleep,
come dreams or death. He seemed insensible to the peril we ran. Often
I sent the sleepy savage below, sad, steered myself till morning. At
last I made a point of slumbering much by day, the better to stand
watch by night; though I made Samoa and Jarl regularly go through
with their allotted four hours each.

It has been mentioned, that Annatoo took her turn at the helm; but it
was only by day. And in justice to the lady, I must affirm, that upon
the whole she acquitted herself well. For notwithstanding the syren
face in the binnacle, which dimly allured her glances, Annatoo after
all was tolerably heedful of her steering. Indeed she took much pride
therein; always ready for her turn; with marvelous exactitude
calculating the approaching hour, as it came on in regular rotation.
Her time-piece was ours, the sun. By night it must have been her
guardian star; for frequently she gazed up at a particular section of
the heavens, like one regarding the dial in a tower.

By some odd reasoning or other, she had cajoled herself into the
notion, that whoever steered