this vessel, it will be a relief to
me to leave her, for the memory of that terrible man, Potter, oppresses
me. I should think that you, too, will be very glad to get away from a
ship that must be fraught, for you, with such unpleasant memories."

"I shall, indeed," assented Leslie. "But my deliverance, as I suppose
you know, must come later. The misfortune by which I became, most
unwillingly, the primary cause of Potter's death, renders it imperative
that I should go on to Valparaiso with this brig, there to surrender
myself to the authorities and answer for my action. I do not suppose,"
he continued, in answer to the expression of consternation that suddenly
leapt into her eyes, "that they will be very hard upon me; Purchas and
the whole of the crew can of course testify that I acted under extreme
provocation and in self-defence; so that probably, if I have to stand a
trial at all, the verdict will be one of `misadventure.'"

"Oh, but this is dreadful!" ejaculated the girl.

She pulled herself up suddenly, and appeared to consider the situation
for some moments; then she said very quietly--

"So, if I am to go home, it appears that I shall have to go alone?"

"I fear so," answered Leslie. "But," he continued reassuringly, "you
must not run away with the idea that I intend to pack you off aboard the
first ship that happens to come along, suitable or otherwise; I reckon
upon falling in with several ships within the next thirty-six hours, we
shall therefore be able to pick and choose; and you may rest assured
that I will not put you aboard a vessel until I have thoroughly
satisfied myself that you will be quite comfortable and happy in her.
And although we have been speaking only of homeward-bound ships, thus
far, we must not forget that, if we should happen to run into a calm on
the Line, it is quite on the cards that we may encounter something
_outward-bound_, either to the Cape, India, or Australia, into which to
trans-ship you; in which case you will be able to continue your original
journey with practically no loss of time."

"Yes," answered Miss Trevor, slowly. "That would be an advantage,
certainly. On the whole, Mr Leslie, I think I should greatly prefer an
outward-bound to a homeward-bound ship, if you please."

"All right," laughed Leslie; "we will see what can be done. And now I
must go on deck to keep a lookout for a suitable craft."

He paused at Purchas's cabin, on his way on deck, and tried