nough that she
would open the door, but the noise of the shaft and the flapping of the
screw drowned her voice, and she was compelled to stand clear when the
stout planking began to yield.

It was dark in there, and Hozier was undeniably startled by the
spectacle of a slim figure, wrapped in a long ulster, standing among
the cases and packages. "Now, out you come!" he cried, with a
gruffness that was intended only to cover his own amazement; but Iris,
despite the horrors of sea-sickness and confinement in the dark, was
not minded to suffer what she considered to be impertinence on the part
of a second officer.

"I am Miss Yorke," she said, coming forward into the half light of the
lower deck. "Any explanation of my presence here will be given to the
captain, and to no other person."

That innocent word "person" is capable of many meanings. Hozier felt
that its application to himself was distinctly unfavorable. And Iris
was quite dignified and self-possessed. She had given a few deft
touches to her hair. Her hat was set at the right angle. Her dark
gray coat and brown boots looked neat and serviceable.

"Of course I did not know to whom I was speaking," he managed to say,
for he now recognized the "ghost," and was more surprised than he had
ever been in his life before.

"That is matterless," said Iris frigidly. "Where is Captain Coke?"

"On the bridge," said Philip.

"I will go to him. Please don't come with me. I tried to tell you
that I would unlock the door, but you refused to listen. Will you let
me pass?"

He obeyed in silence.

"Well, s'help me!" muttered a sailor, "talk about suffrigettes! Wot
price _'er_?"

Iris hurried to the deck. The light seemed to dazzle her, and her
steps were so uncertain that Hozier sprang forward and caught her arm.

"Won't you sit down a moment, Miss Yorke?" he said. "If you searched
the whole ship, you could not have chosen a worse place to travel in
than the lazarette."

"I was driven out twice at night by the rats," she gasped, though she
strove desperately to regain control of her trembling limbs.

"Too bad!" he whispered. "But it was your own fault. Why did you do
it? At any rate, wait here a few minutes before you meet the captain."

"I am not afraid of meeting him. Why should I be? He knows me."

"I meant only that you are hardly able to walk, but I seem to say the
wrong thing every time. There is nothing really to worry about. We
are not