w became almost offensively jaunty. Others, frankly terrified at the
outset, sauntered timidly away from the life-boats to which they were
assigned. Every one was glad that the Captain had ordered a life-boat
drill on the first afternoon out, and every one was glad that he had
ignored the demand of Mr. Landover that the boats be lowered the instant
he discovered that his passengers were in peril. No news was good news,
argued the majority, and jesting was in order.

Peter Snipe, the novelist, got out a pad of paper and began jotting down
impressions. Madam Careni-Amori and Signor Joseppi exchanged the first
friendly words they had spoken to each other in weeks, and in full view
of an entranced audience linked arms and strode bravely to and fro, the
former clasping a huge jewel case to her ample bosom, the latter
chafing perceptibly under the weight of an invisible belt stuffed to its
capacity with banknotes and gold. Chilean ladies and Chilean gentlemen,
dazzling Brazilian ladies and pompous Brazilian gentlemen, smug
Argentinians, lordly Castilians, garrulous Portuguese, lofty English
gentlemen and supercilious English ladies, friendly and irrepressible
Americans,--all of them swinging their sea-legs with new-found
abandon--clattered solidly around the wind-swept circuit. New faces
appeared in the procession, new voices were raised with energy, new
figures sprang into existence with marvellous rapidity. It seemed to
Percival that the population doubled and tripled and quadrupled with
every throb of the powerful engines. He saw his "bunkie" of the night
before,--the man who was trying so hard to die and couldn't,--he saw him
plunging along with the throng, pale but valiant, ferociously glaring at
every one who smoked.

A small group of American nurses, some young and pretty, others young
and homely, but all of them sprightly and clear-eyed,--nine of them, in
fact--tramped by in "columns of three."

Percival's guardian jerked his head in their direction after they had
passed, and volunteered this bit of information:

"Hornswoggled, them girls was. Come all the way down from New York
six months ago. Promised double pay and plenty of work in the American
colony. Sore as crabs, all of 'em. They got double pay all right, all
right, but there was some misunderstandin' as to what single pay was to
be to start off with. Single pay turned out to be just whatever suited
the people that employed 'em, seein's they were nearly sev