CHAPTER VIII
THE SECOND-CLASS PASSENGER
Up to a certain point the voyage was like all other voyages. During the
first two days there were passengers who did not appear on deck, but
as the weather was fair for the season of the year, there were fewer
absentees than is usual. Indeed, on the third day the deck chairs were
all filled, people who were given to tramping during their voyages had
begun to walk their customary quota of carefully-measured miles the
day. There were a few pale faces dozing here and there, but the general
aspect of things had begun to be sprightly. Shuffleboard players and
quoit enthusiasts began to bestir themselves, the deck steward appeared
regularly with light repasts of beef tea and biscuits, and the brilliant
hues of red, blue, or yellow novels made frequent spots of colour upon
the promenade. Persons of some initiative went to the length of making
tentative observations to their next-chair neighbours. The second-cabin
passengers were cheerful, and the steerage passengers, having tumbled
up, formed friendly groups and began to joke with each other.
The Worthingtons had plainly the good fortune to be respectable sailors.
They reappeared on the second day and established regular habits, after
the manner of accustomed travellers.
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