gan to speak of himself. He
was, it appeared, an orphan, twenty-eight years of age, without a single
friend in the world who felt enough interest in him to care what might
become of him. He had already explained, a little earlier in the
evening, that he was by profession a civil engineer; and he now went on
to tell me that, entirely without friends or influence as he was, he had
found it so difficult to make headway in England that he had at last
determined upon going out to Natal, in which colony, it being
comparatively speaking a new country, he had hoped to find some scope
for his professional knowledge. "But that," he added, "is all knocked
on the head by that young villain, Bainbridge, who has not only
prevented me from reaching Natal, but has actually turned me adrift in
an open boat to fetch up who knows where, with only the clothes I stand
in. And yet, not exactly that either," he corrected himself with a
quiet chuckle of amusement; "for although my expensive surveying
instruments and all my kit are on board the _Zenobia_, I contrived to
get at my trunks this morning and extract therefrom a bag containing one
hundred and forty sovereigns, as well as my telescope and half a dozen
sticks of tobacco, all of which I carefully secreted about my person and
have with me now."

"Well," returned I, "if that is the case you may call yourself lucky,
for you will find a hundred and forty British sovereigns exceedingly
useful when we get ashore; as for your telescope, it may prove of the
utmost value to us before this trip is over. You are considerably
better off than I am, for I was allowed to leave the ship with literally
only the clothes that I am wearing. The remainder of my clothes,
together with my sextant, nautical and other books, and some sixteen
pounds odd in cash, are still in my berth aboard the barque, if that
swab has not already seized them. But of course I am hoping to find a
ship at Rio, aboard which I may be able to work my passage home; and
once back in London the owners are bound to find me another berth."

"But supposing there shouldn't happen to be a ship at Rio in which you
can work your passage home. What will you do in that case?" asked
Cunningham.

"Oh," I said, "I should simply have to take the first berth I could
find, irrespective of where the vessel might happen to be bound for!
Or, in the last resort, I can place myself in the hands of the British
Consul, and be sent home as a shipwr