ut now and then she would look up. They had a lot
to say to each other, and seemed to forget they weren't alone in the
ship. He saw the captain put his hand on her shoulder, and was
preparing himself with a certain zest for what might follow, when the
"old man" seemed to recollect himself, and came striding down all the
length of the saloon. At this move the ship-keeper promptly dodged out
of sight, as you may believe, and heard the captain slam the inner door
of the passage. After that disappointment the ship-keeper waited
resentfully for them to clear out of the ship. It happened much sooner
than he had expected. The girl walked out on deck first. As before she
did not look round. She didn't look at anything; and she seemed to be
in such a hurry to get ashore that she made for the gangway and started
down the ladder without waiting for the captain.

What struck the ship-keeper most was the absent, unseeing expression of
the captain, striding after the girl. He passed him, the ship-keeper,
without notice, without an order, without so much as a look. The
captain had never done so before. Always had a nod and a pleasant word
for a man. From this slight the ship-keeper drew a conclusion
unfavourable to the strange girl. He gave them time to get down on the
wharf before crossing the deck to steal one more look at the pair over
the rail. The captain took hold of the girl's arm just before a couple
of railway trucks drawn by a horse came rolling along and hid them from
the ship-keeper's sight for good.

Next day, when the chief mate joined the ship, he told him the tale of
the visit, and expressed himself about the girl "who had got hold of the
captain" disparagingly. She didn't look healthy, he explained. "Shabby
clothes, too," he added spitefully.

The mate was very much interested. He had been with Anthony for several
years, and had won for himself in the course of many long voyages, a
footing of familiarity, which was to be expected with a man of Anthony's
character. But in that slowly-grown intimacy of the sea, which in its
duration and solitude had its unguarded moments, no words had passed,
even of the most casual, to prepare him for the vision of his captain
associated with any kind of girl. His impression had been that women
did not exist for Captain Anthony. Exhibiting himself with a girl! A
girl! What did he want with a girl? Bringing her on board and showing
her round the cabin! That was