t of fact, he was one of that
curious class of sailor commonly met with outside the British mercantile
marine, who, if you asked them, would find it difficult to tell you
where they were born, and who have been so long at sea that one country
has become like another to them, provided the liquor is good and they
can scrape together a sufficient living out of it; and one flag is equal
to another, provided, of course, it is not Chinese, which as everyone
knows is no use to anyone, not even to themselves.

For the week, and more particularly for the forty-eight hours preceding
our departure from Hamburg, I had been living in such a state of nervous
tension that, as soon as we were once clear of the land, the reaction
that set in was almost more than I could bear. The prophecy Pharos had
given utterance to regarding Valerie had been verified to the letter. At
the hour appointed for leaving, she had descended from her room, looking
at first glance as healthy and strong as I had ever seen her. It was
only when I came close up to her and could catch a glimpse of her eyes
that I saw how dilated the pupils were and how unnatural was the light
they contained. From the moment she appeared upon the stairs, throughout
the drive through the city, and until we reached the steamer, not a word
crossed her lips, and it was only when we were in the saloon and Pharos
bade her retire to her cabin, that she found her voice and spoke to me.

"Good night," she said very slowly, as if it hurt her even to speak the
words, and then added with infinite sadness, "You have been very good
and patient with me, Cyril." Having said this, she disappeared into her
cabin, and I saw no more of her that night.

As I remarked at the commencement of this chapter, the sun when it rose
next morning found us in open water. Not a trace of the land was to be
seen, and you may be sure I was not sorry to be away from it. Taking one
thing with another, I had not spent a pleasant night. I had tried
sleeping in my bunk, but without success. It was filthy in the extreme,
and so small that I found it quite impossible to stretch myself out at
full length. Accordingly, I had tumbled and tossed in it, tried every
position, and had at last vacated it in favour of the settee in the
saloon, where I had remained until the first signs of day showed
themselves. Then I went on deck to find a beautiful pearl-grey dawn, in
which the steamer seemed a speck on the immensity of sea. I t