elow with me?"

"I ain't overly anxious 'bout it, Mister Carlyle," he replied gruffly,
plucking awkwardly at the peak of his cap. "I'm a seaman, sir, an'
know my duty, an' so I'll go 'long if yer wus ter order me to. Yer
know that; but I ain't fergot yet this yere is a cholera ship, an'
it's goin' ter be as black as night down thar in thet cabin--"

"Don't urge him Geoffry," the girl interrupted, her hand on my
sleeve. "Leave him here on deck, I am not in the least afraid, and
all you need is someone to hold the light. Please let me do that."

I looked down into her eyes, and smiled.

"Suppose we should encounter another ape?"

"Then I would want to be with you," she responded quickly. "You are
going to consent?"

"I suppose I am, although if there was the slightest danger my answer
would be otherwise. Keep the men busy, Watkins, while we are
gone--don't give them time to ask questions. You brought the lantern
on deck?"

"Yes, sir; it's over there against the grating."

"Very well; we'll light up in the companion, so the flame will not be
seen by the crew. Coming, Dorothy?"

She accompanied me cheerfully, but her hand grasped mine as we groped
our way down the stairs into the dark cabin. A faint glimmer of gray
daylight filtered through the glass from above, and found entrance at
the open ports, but the place was nevertheless gloomy enough, and we
needed what little help the candle afforded to find our way about. The
memories haunted us both, and hurried us to our special mission. The
door of the storeroom stood wide open, but the after ports were
closed, the air within heated and foul. Dorothy held the lantern, her
hands trembling slightly, as I stepped across and unscrewed both
ports. The moist fog blew in upon me but was welcome, although I
stared forth into a bank of impenetrable mist.

The dead ape lay just as he had fallen, with his hideous face
upturned, and a great gash in the head. The hatchet with which I had
dealt the blow, rested on the deck, disfigured with blood. The
hugeness of the creature, its repulsive aspect in death, with savage
teeth gleaming in the rays of the lantern, and long, hairy arms
outspread, gave me such a shock, I felt my limbs tremble. For a moment
I could not remove my eyes from the spectacle, or regain control of my
nerves. Then I some way saw the horror, reflected in her face, and
realized the requirements of leadership.

"He was certainly a big brute," I said quietly, "