ague terror pressed upon her
like a destroying incubus.

A moment later, recollection thronged upon her. She remembered
everything--the coming to the yacht, the fall, the wrenched ankle, the
arrival of the physician, the almost dainty pain of the needle thrust
into her flesh. And then Ethel began to think that it would be pleasant
to be an invalid on board the yacht for a long time. It would need only
a judicious selection of guests to make a voyage the most agreeable of
diversions.

Just then she was startled into a new emotion. She realized the rhythmic
beating of the engines.... The yacht was already under way.

For a little, Ethel was too stunned by the shock of surprise to take
action. To her, it was inconceivable that the yacht should be thus
voyaging. It should be still lying at anchor in the North River. Her
father could have given no orders for its sailing. She had not. There
was no one else with authority to command the movements of the craft. It
should be lying at anchor in its berth.... But it was not. There was the
pulse from the engines, the gentle swing of the hull to prove that a
journey was begun. A journey--whither or wherefore she could not even
guess.

Ethel put her feet out of the berth, and winced with pain from the
movement of the injured ankle. But she set her teeth in grim
determination, and stood up, putting her weight on the sound foot. Then
she hobbled to the port, and looked out. She saw the highlands of New
Jersey slipping gently past. She recognized the lightship. There was no
longer room for doubt. The yacht had put to sea.

Ethel remained staring out of the port-hole for a long hour, during
which the New Jersey coast unrolled a panorama of varied loveliness. And
throughout all that hour, the girl was in a maze of wonder over this
thing that had befallen. She could make no guess as to the meaning of it
all. She found herself dazed by the unexpected situation. Yet, a certain
instinct warned her of danger. She did not in the least understand the
nature of the peril, the cause of it, the effect. But somehow a
subconscious intelligence guided her to the realization that this
inexplicable situation was fraught with portents of evil. Her fear
sharpened when she found that the door of the stateroom was locked from
the outside.

Moving with care that she might not cause herself more pain by strain in
the injured ankle, she looked for and found a pencil and a sheet of
paper, on which she s