I said. "I'm no worse for it, only I ought to have managed
better. I should have swum behind her, and held her up by the hair."

"Yes," said my companion, smiling, "that is one theory; but it is very
hard to put theory into practice at such a time."

I lay looking at him searchingly for a few minutes, and thinking I
should never like him, for he was cold and sad and stern in his manner.
He smiled at me when he caught my eye, but the smile kept fading away
again directly, like wintry sunshine, and I was thinking that I would
ask if I could not have another berth in a cabin to myself, however
small, when another thought occurred to me, and I turned to him sharply.

"I say, that dirty water will spoil all my clothes!"

"Never mind your clothes, my lad," he said smiling. "A _few_ pounds
will put that right. They are as nothing compared to a human life.
Besides, it was not the brand-new uniform in that case."

I felt the blood come into my cheeks, for he was smiling rather
contemptuously.

"I'm not so proud of my uniform as all that," I said hurriedly.

"Don't be a humbug, my dear fellow," he replied quietly. "You would not
be natural if you were not proud of it. I was very proud of mine, I
know. Stop; what are you going to do?"

"Get up," I said quickly.

"Nonsense; not yet. What about your clothes?"

"My clothes?"

"Yes; you have no other suit unpacked. I gave your wet things to the
steward to get dry."

"I can soon unpack another suit," I said, "if--if you will go."

"Oh, I'll go, if you like, my lad," he replied with a smile; "but as we
are to be chums through this voyage, we cannot afford to be very
particular, especially as the accommodation is so limited. There, I
will be your valet now; you shall be mine if I am ill. Here are your
keys, purse, and pocket-book. I took everything out of your wet things.
There," he continued, "tell me which is the key, and I will get out
clean linen and another suit. Then I'll tell my servant to see that a
bath is prepared; and, by the way, you have no servant yet, I suppose?"

I shook my head, as I lay wondering whether I liked this stern, cold,
dark man, or whether I did not.

"Ah, well, we will soon pick out a man from the draft. This looks like
the key."

It was the right one, and in a quiet matter-of-fact way, and with very
little help from me, he selected the necessary articles; and an hour
later I went on deck, saving a slight headache, very littl