Dip in the Pool
On the morning of the third day, the sea calmed. Even the most delicate passengers – those who had not been seen around the ship since sailing time – came out of their rooms and made their way slowly onto the sundeck and sat there, with their faces turned to the pale January sun. It had been fairly rough for the first two days, and this sudden calm, and the sense of comfort that came with it, made the whole ship seem much friendlier. By the time evening came, the passengers, with twelve hours of good weather behind them, were beginning to feel more courageous. At eight o’clock that night, the main dining room was filled with people eating and drinking with the confident appearance of experienced sailors. The meal was not half over when the passengers realized, by the slight movement of their bodies on the seats do their chairs that the big ship had actually startedrolling again. It was very gentle at first, just a slow, lazy leaning to one side, then to the other, but it was enough to cause a slight but immediate loss of good humour around the room. A few of the passengers looked up from their food, waiting, almost listening for the next roll, smiling nervously, with little secret looks of fear in their eyes. Some were completely calm; others were openly pleased with themselves and made jokes about the food and the weather in order to annoy the few who were beginning to suffer. The movement of the ship then became rapidly more and more violent and only five or six minutes after the first roll had been noticed, the ship wasswinging heavily from side to side. At last, a really bad roll came, and Mr. William Botibol, sitting at the purser's table, saw his plate of fish sliding suddenly away from under his fork. Everybody, now, was reaching for plates and wine glasses. Mrs. Renshaw, seated at the purser’s right, gave a little scream and held onto that gentleman’s arm. “It’s going to be a rough night,” the purser said, looking at Mrs. Renshaw. “I think there’s a storm coming that will give us a very rough night.” There was just the the faintest suggestion of pleasure in the way he said it. Most of the passengers continued with their meal. A small number, including Mrs.