me like a sudden
blow to me. The only light near us was a lantern at the wheel.
The creature's face was turned for one brief instant out of the dimness
of the stern towards this illumination, and I saw that the eyes
that glanced at me shone with a pale-green light. I did not know then
that a reddish luminosity, at least, is not uncommon in human eyes.
The thing came to me as stark inhumanity. That black figure with its
eyes of fire struck down through all my adult thoughts and feelings,
and for a moment the forgotten horrors of childhood came back to my mind.
Then the effect passed as it had come. An uncouth black figure
of a man, a figure of no particular import, hung over the taffrail
against the starlight, and I found Montgomery was speaking
to me.

"I'm thinking of turning in, then," said he, "if you've had enough
of this."

I answered him incongruously. We went below, and he wished me
good-night at the door of my cabin.

That night I had some very unpleasant dreams. The waning
moon rose late. Its light struck a ghostly white beam across
my cabin, and made an ominous shape on the planking by my bunk.
Then the staghounds woke, and began howling and baying;
so that I dreamt fitfully, and scarcely slept until the approach
of dawn.

V. THE MAN WHO HAD NOWHERE TO GO.

IN the early morning (it was the second morning after my recovery,
and I believe the fourth after I was picked up), I awoke through an avenue
of tumultuous dreams,--dreams of guns and howling mobs,--and became
sensible of a hoarse shouting above me. I rubbed my eyes and lay
listening to the noise, doubtful for a little while of my whereabouts.
Then came a sudden pattering of bare feet, the sound of heavy objects
being thrown about, a violent creaking and the rattling of chains.
I heard the swish of the water as the ship was suddenly brought round,
and a foamy yellow-green wave flew across the little round
window and left it streaming. I jumped into my clothes and went
on deck.

As I came up the ladder I saw against the flushed sky--for the sun
was just rising--the broad back and red hair of the captain,
and over his shoulder the puma spinning from a tackle rigged on
to the mizzen spanker-boom.

The poor brute seemed horribly scared, and crouched in the bottom
of its little cage.

"Overboard with 'em!" bawled the captain. "Overboard with 'em!
We'll have a clean ship soon of the whole bilin' of 'em."

He stood in my way, so t