to you a dream?" she asked, deep in a valley of the seas.

From the top of the next comber I answered:

"It did until you joined me here, but now I know you belong to me
forever, both in the land of dreams and waking."

"Did the storm teach you that?"

I looked out at the flying scud and back at the storm-bewitched girl
with laughter rippling from her throat and the wild joy of a rare moment
in her eyes.

"Yes, the storm. It brought you to my arms and your heart to mine."

"I think it did, Jack; the wee corner of it that was not yours already."

Her shy eyes fell and I drew her close to me. In the dusk that had
fallen like a cloak over the ship her lips met mine with the sweetest
surrender in the world.

So in the clamorous storm our hearts found safe anchorage.

CHAPTER XIX

SENSE AND NONSENSE

The squall passed as suddenly as it had swept upon us, and left in its
wake a night of stars and moonbeat.

Apparently there was no question of returning the mutineers to the irons
from which we had freed them. Alderson, Smith, Neidlinger, and Higgins
were grouped together on the forecastle deck in amiable chat.

Blythe was still at the wheel, and our cheerful friend from the cattle
country at the piano bawling out the identical chorus I had interrupted
so ruthlessly just before the first blow of the mutiny was struck.

He was lustily singing as Evelyn and I trod the deck.

"Tom sings as if with conviction. I hope it may not be deep-rooted," I
laughed.

"If you mean me----"

"I don't mean Miss Berry."

To my surprise she took the words seriously.

"It isn't so, Jack. Say it isn't so."

"Does that mean that it is?" I asked.

"No-o. Only I can't bear to think that our happiness will make anybody
else unhappy."

"It doesn't appear to be making him unhappy."

"But he doesn't know--yet."

"Then he's really serious? I wasn't quite sure."

She sighed.

"I wish he wasn't. How girls can like to make men fall in love with them
I can't conceive. He's such a splendid fellow, too."

"He's a man, every inch of him," I offered by way of comfort. "It won't
hurt him to love a good woman even if he doesn't win her. He'll recover,
but it will do him a lot of good first."

"Would you feel so complacent if it were you?" she asked slyly, with a
flash of merry eyes.

We happened to be in the shadow of the smokestack. After the interlude I
expounded my philosophy more at length.

"He's young yet--at least