passengers. Only two lifeboats were launched before the _Elena Mia_ went
down. Pembroke was in the second. The roar of the sinking ship was the
last thing he heard for some time.

Pembroke came as close to being a professional adventurer as one can in
these days of regimented travel, organized peril, and political
restriction. He had made for himself a substantial fortune through
speculation in a great variety of properties, real and otherwise. Life
had given him much and demanded little, which was perhaps the reason for
his restiveness.

* * * * *

Loyalty to person or to people was a trait Pembroke had never recognized
in himself, nor had it ever been expected of him. And yet he greatly
envied those staunch patriots and lovers who could find it in themselves
to elevate the glory and safety of others above that of themselves.

Lacking such loyalties, Pembroke adapted quickly to the situation in
which he found himself when he regained consciousness. He awoke in a
small room in what appeared to be a typical modern American hotel. The
wallet in his pocket contained exactly what it should, approximately
three hundred dollars. His next thought was of food. He left the room
and descended via the elevator to the restaurant. Here he observed that
it was early afternoon. Ordering a full dinner, for he was unusually
hungry, he began to study the others in the restaurant.

Many of the faces seemed familiar; the crew of the ship, probably. He
also recognized several of the passengers. However, he made no attempt
to speak to them. After his meal, he bought a good corona and went for a
walk. His situation could have been any small western American seacoast
city. He heard the hiss of the ocean in the direction the afternoon sun
was taking. In his full-gaited walk, he was soon approaching the beach.

On the sand he saw a number of sun bathers. One in particular, an
attractive woman of about thirty, tossed back her long, chestnut locks
and gazed up intently at Pembroke as he passed. Seldom had he enjoyed so
ingenuous an invitation. He halted and stared down at her for a few
moments.

"You are looking for someone?" she inquired.

"Much of the time," said the man.

"Could it be me?"

"It could be."

"Yet you seem unsure," she said.

Pembroke smiled, uneasily. There was something not entirely normal about
her conversation. Though the rest of her compensated for that.

"Tell me what's wrong wi