rew out some clothes from a steamer trunk and left the
rescued man alone to dress. Ten minutes later he returned.

"Expect you'd like an interview with the barber. I'll take you round. By
the way, you'll let me be your banker till you reach Verden?"

"Thank you. Since I must."

From the barber shop the Englishman took him to the dining saloon.
"Awfully sorry you can't sit at our table, Mr. Farnum. It's full up.
You're to be at the purser's."

Jeff let a smile escape into his eyes. "Suits me. I've been at the
bos'n's for several weeks."

"Beastly outrage. We'll want to hear all about it. Miss Frome's
tremendously excited. Odd you and she hadn't met before. Didn't know
Verden was such a big town."

"I'm not a society man," explained Jeff. "And it happens I've been
fighting her father politically for years. Miss Frome and Mrs. Van Tyle
are about the last people I would be likely to meet."

From his seat Jeff could see the cousins at the other end of the room.
They were seated near the head of the captain's table, and that
officer was paying particular attention to them, perhaps because the
_Bellingham_ happened to be one of a line of boats owned by Joe Powers,
perhaps because both of them were very attractive young women. They were
types entirely outside Farnum's very limited experience. The indolence,
the sheathed perfection, the soft sensuous allure of the young widow
seemed to Jeff a product largely of her father's wealth. But the charm
of her cousin, with its sweet and mocking smile, its note of youthful
austerity, was born of the fine and gallant spirit in her.

Beauchamp sat beside Miss Frome and the editor observed that they were
having a delightful time. He wondered what they could be talking about.
What did a man say to bring such a glow and sparkle of life into a
girl's face? It came to him with a wistful regret for his stolen youth
that never yet had he sat beside a young woman at dinner and entertained
her in the gay adequate manner of Lieutenant Beauchamp. James could do
it, had done it a hundred times. But he had been sold too long to an
urgent world of battle ever to know such delights.

Part 3

After dinner Jeff lost no time in waiting upon Miss Frome to thank her
for her assistance. It was already dark. When he found her it was not
in one of the saloons, but on deck. She was leaning against the deck
railing in animated talk with Beauchamp, the while Mrs. Van Tyle
listened lazily from a deck c