Oh, since a quarter past twelve." She got up from her knees stiffly,
and shook out the shining folds of the Manchu coat. "It was the only
thing I could think of; it's what the boys do back home for a
rattlesnake bite."

The doctor's glance expressed complete and unqualified approval, but
whether it was for her course of action or her very lovely and disturbed
appearance it would be hard to say. As she slipped out of the room he
turned to Percival.

"It's a severed artery, sir; no special harm done except the loss of
blood. A few days' rest--"

"But I am sailing in the morning," murmured Percival. "Must patch me up
by that time."

"We shall see. You don't seem to realize that you stood an excellent
chance of remaining permanently in Shanghai."

"You mean?"

"I mean that you owe your life to that plucky little wife of yours."

Percival's heart leaped at the word. "She's not my wife, Doctor," he
said, smiling feebly, "not yet."

XIV

NEPTUNE TAKES A HAND

The evolution of a hero is seldom a gradual process; he usually springs
into public favor suddenly and dramatically. Not so with the Honorable
Percival. He had to scramble ignominiously on all fours through a canvas
tunnel, he had to brave the smiles of the on-lookers while he learned
new steps on the ball-room floor, he had to participate in a street
fight and have an artery severed before he was accorded the honor of
a pedestal.

Bobby's graphic account of his defense of the drunken sailor, together
with his own vigorous disavowal of any heroism in the affair, won for
him a halo. After months of tedious anchorage in the dull harbor of
seclusion, he found himself once more afloat on a sea of approval,
tasting again the sweet savor of adulation, and spreading his sails to
catch each passing breath of admiration.

Reclining in his deck-chair, with his arm in a sling and a becoming
pallor suffusing his classic features, he became an object of the
greatest solicitude to his fellow-passengers. The fluttering attentions
he received warmed him into geniality, and in return he dispensed regal
favors. He allowed Mrs. Weston to consult him concerning her
presentation at court the following spring, he let Andy Black arrange
his tie, and permitted Elise Weston to cut the leaves of his magazine.
He graciously submitted to endless inquiries concerning his hourly
progress, and even went so far as to accept two cream peppermints from
the old missionary, who had