cht I did so with a full determination to keep my eyes wide open, and
to be prepared for trouble whenever or in whatever shape it might come.

On gaining the deck I was received by an elderly individual whom I
afterward discovered to be the captain. He informed me in French that
both Monsieur Pharos and the Fraeulein Valerie had already arrived on
board and had retired to their cabins. The former had given instructions
that everything possible was to be done to promote my comfort, and,
having said this, the captain surrendered me to the charge of the
servant who had escorted me on board, and, bowing reverentially to me,
made some excuse about seeing the yacht under way and went forward. At
the request of the steward I passed along the deck to the
after-companion ladder, and thence to the saloon below. The evidence of
wealth I had had before me in the house in Naples had prepared me in
some measure for the magnificent vessel in which I now found myself;
nevertheless, I must confess to feeling astonished at the luxury I saw
displayed on every side. The saloon must have been upward of thirty feet
long by eighteen wide, and one glance round it showed me that the
decorations, the carpet, and the furniture, were the best that taste and
money could procure. With noiseless footfall the steward conducted me
across the saloon, and, opening a door on the port side, introduced me
to my cabin.

My luggage had preceded me, and, as it was now close upon eleven
o'clock, I determined to turn in and, if possible, get to sleep before
the vessel started.

When I woke in the morning we were at sea. Brilliant sunshine streamed
in through the porthole and danced on the white and gold panelling of
the cabin. Smart seas rattled against the hull and set the little craft
rolling till I began to think it was as well I was a good sailor,
otherwise I should scarcely have looked forward with such interest to
the breakfast I could hear preparing in the saloon outside.

As soon as I had dressed I made my way to the deck. It was a lovely
morning, a bright blue sky overhead, with a few snow-white clouds away
to the southwest to afford relief and to add to the beauty of the
picture. A smart sea was running, and more than once I had to make a
bolt for the companion-ladder in order to escape the spray which came
whistling over the bulwarks.

In the daylight the yacht looked bigger than she had done on the
previous night. At a rough guess she scarcely c