THE ISLES OF THE INDIES 3 



a sounding and dropped the anchor for the night. From the 

 depth of water I knew we were somewhere in the center of 

 the Chesapeake Bay, but exactly where I was not certain. 



Below decks again, I lit my pipe, drew on it for a few min- 

 utes and then let my eyes stray over the ship's cabin before 

 me. It was a comfortable place. In it was contained everything 

 that tw^o men could possibly need for many months to come. 

 It differed from the ordinary ship's cabin in that one entire 

 side was taken up by a carefully constructed laboratory table 

 of considerable length. About this table was grouped a con- 

 siderable array of glittering chemical bottles of varied sizes 

 and hues, and an odd assortment of instruments all tightly 

 fastened with brackets to the wall so they would not shift 

 with the motion of the ship. A binocular microscope shrouded 

 in a watertight rubber case was bolted tightly to the table top 

 and near it was a rack containing a half dozen hypodermic 

 syringes ranging in size from a small 2 cc. glass syringe to a large 

 affair of gleaming nickel with a capacity of nearly a pint. Like- 

 wise in a rack, was a case of dissecting instruments, clamps, 

 hooks and chains, scalpels, needles and forceps. Below the scal- 

 pel rack was a dissecting board with drains leading to a shining 

 monel metal sink divided in two portions. One division was 

 free of all encumbrance but the other contained a complete set 

 of developing and fixing racks with rinsing apparatus for photo- 

 graphic use. Adjacent to this was a compact printing machine, 

 a timer and a number of holders for drying and processing film. 

 Below the table a number of drawers held a considerable as- 

 semblage of materials, collecting nets, small dredges, cases of 

 specimen bottles, unused film, guns and numerous other items. 

 The remainder of the table area was taken up by shelves of 

 reference works, mostly large volumes in dull gray or brown 

 covers. 



The science of navigation claimed the last Hve feet of the 



