's something in the bottom of it," she said.

Instinctively, without suspecting anything, Bananas looked full into the
water. His face was reflected in it. In a flash she beat upon it
violently, with both her hands, so that they pounded on the bottom and
the water splashed up. The reflection was broken in pieces. Bananas
started back with a sudden hoarse cry and he looked at the girl. She was
standing there with a look of triumphant hatred on her face. A horror
came into his eyes. His heavy features were twisted in agony, and with
a thud, as though he had taken a violent poison, he crumpled up on to
the ground. A great shudder passed through his body and he was still.
She leaned over him callously. She put her hand on his heart and then
she pulled down his lower eye-lid. He was quite dead.

She went into the cabin in which lay Captain Butler. There was a faint
colour in his cheeks and he looked at her in a startled way.

"What's happened?" he whispered.

They were the first words he had spoken for forty-eight hours.

"Nothing's happened," she said.

"I feel all funny."

Then his eyes closed and he fell asleep. He slept for a day and a night,
and when he awoke he asked for food. In a fortnight he was well.

It was past midnight when Winter and I rowed back to shore and we had
drunk innumerable whiskies and sodas.

"What do you think of it all?" asked Winter.

"What a question! If you mean, have I any explanation to suggest, I
haven't."

"The captain believes every word of it."

"That's obvious; but you know that's not the part that interests me
most, whether it's true or not, and what it all means; the part that
interests me is that such things should happen to such people. I wonder
what there is in that commonplace little man to arouse such a passion in
that lovely creature. As I watched her, asleep there, while he was
telling the story I had some fantastic idea about the power of love
being able to work miracles."

"But that's not the girl," said Winter.

"What on earth do you mean?"

"Didn't you notice the cook?"

"Of course I did. He's the ugliest man I ever saw."

"That's why Butler took him. The girl ran away with the Chinese cook
last year. This is a new one. He's only had her there about two months."

"Well, I'm hanged."

"He thinks this cook is safe. But I wouldn't be too sure in his place.
There's something about a Chink, when he lays himself out to please a
woman she can't resist him."