We've got to lose the whole top part of North America," her
confident brother declared.
There was some sort of officer (he had brass buttons and wore a cap, so
Russ and Rose knew he must be an officer) pacing the deck, back and
forth, not far from their chairs. Every time he came near he threw a
pleasant word to the brother and sister. Russ and Rose began to ask him
questions and sometimes trotted beside him as he paced his lookout
watch. Violet would have delighted in this man, for he seemed to know
almost everything about ships and the sea and was perfectly willing to
answer questions.
Rose asked him if, after they had lost the land, they would find the
Gulf Stream that Daddy Bunker had told them about.
"Pretty soon thereafter, little lady," said the man.
"And--and does it have banks?" pursued Rose.
"Does what have banks?" the man asked, in surprise. "The Gulf Stream?"
"Yes, sir."
"No," chuckled the sailor. "It's not like a river--not just like one."
"Then how do you know when you come to the Gulf Stream?" demanded Russ.
"I should think you'd sail over it without knowing."
But the sailor told them that the stream, or current, was very broad,
that the water was much warmer than the surrounding ocean, and that the
Gulf Stream was even a different color from the colder ocean.
"Oh, we won't miss it," declared the man, shaking his head.
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