"You had better not," growled Sam.

The rest of the afternoon was devoted to routine duties aboard ship, Sam having gotten into his old clothes for the work before him. Painting ship was continued. Corridors and gun decks showed the result of the work that already had been done, and the smell of fresh paint was everywhere.

Night came on with the ship nearing her former anchorage.

"We shall have good weather to-morrow," announced the ship's navigator.

"I hope so," answered the captain. "We want to lay out that mine field and get to work. We are going to try to beat the record of the 'Georgia'

this time, providing we have no accidents. That is the main reason why I am so anxious about the weather."

At last they reached a sheltered spot, anchors were let go and the battleship swung about, facing into the rolling sea.

That night the Battleship Boys lost no time in turning in after taps had been sounded. The ship was rolling more gently now, just enough to lull them into a sound sleep, their hammocks swaying slightly under the battleship's motion.

How long they had been asleep they did not know. All of a sudden Dan uttered a shout and Sam sprang up, as did many others in the corridor.

"Pipe down the racket," growled several voices.

"What's the matter? Is that you, Dan!" called Sam, observing, in the faint light, that his companion was not near him.

"Yes," answered a m.u.f.fled voice from below.

"What's the trouble, did you fall out of bed?"

"I don't know. I guess I did."

"Hurt you any?"

"Hurt me? Every bone in my body is broken."

"Will you rookies shut up and let the rest of us go to sleep, or must we come down there and thump you?" demanded a shipmate from his hammock.

"We are not rookies," protested Sam indignantly. "We are ordinary seamen."

"My hammock is down," complained Dan.

"Then why don't you use more care in putting it up? Hurry and get it in place before any of the sentries pa.s.s here. We, or rather you, will get on the report if they discover you with your hammock down."

"I can't put it up?"

"Why not?"

"I'm hurt."

Sam was down out of his hammock instantly.

"Where are you hurt?"

"My wrist. I think I have broken it. I must have twisted it under me when I fell."

"Then go to the surgeon at once."

"No; not until morning."

The wrist hung limp and Dan seemed unable to use it at all.

"That's too bad," exclaimed Sam, his voice full of concern. "You wait until I fix your hammock; then I will help you up."

"No, I can't do it, Sam. I never could get up there," complained the lad, holding his wrist, which was paining him dreadfully.

Dan dragged himself to where his hammock was hanging by one end, the other end lying on the deck.

"It's curious. I can't understand it at all."

"What is?"

"I know I triced that up properly last night. I cannot understand how it ever came down."

Dan stooped over, picking up the ends of the rope that had secured the hammock to its hooks. He examined the ends as closely as possible with one hand injured.

"Look here, Sam," he said, with a trace of excitement in his tone.

"What is it!"

"Just examine this rope and see what you make of it?"

Sam did so.

"It has been broken, that is all I can discover."

"Then your eyesight must have gone back on you. There is more to it than that. Don't you see anything else wrong with those lashings?"

"I do not."

"Well, I do."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that my hammock lashings have been cut. See those strands there?

Well, they have been half severed with a knife. It was intended that they should not give way at once, but that they should let me down some time in the night."

"You-you don't mean it? Yes, you are right. They have been cut. Who could have done such a dastardly thing? Why, you might have killed yourself."

Hickey uttered a low growl.

"I don't know who did it," muttered Davis, "but if I do find out there will be a real fight on board this ship, and that without the formality of a referee."

"Dan this must be reported at once to the proper person."