ve had bright weather and dull, we have had smooth seas and rough,
and now at last we have fog! It's experience," pronounced Katrine
reflectively, "but," she shuddered, "it's an experience I'd as soon be
without! There's something eerie and gruesome about sailing through an
invisible sea, where there's not even enough air to breathe. One feels
shut in! I think I'm a little afraid. Do _you_ like it?"

"I have never met any one who _liked_ a fog at sea, but I am not afraid.
There's no need for fear."

Bedford smiled. He had discarded white clothing in favour of a grey
suit, a cap to match was pressed down over his head, he was all grey to
match the mist, even his skin seemed tinged with the same shade.
Katrine shuddered again as she looked him over.

"And you are a mist man. You look unreal, like everything else. I
think I am afraid of you, too! I shall go into the ladies' room, and
turn on the light, and read."

"No!" Bedford laid his hand on her arm. "You will not! You will sit
out here with me in the fog. You can sit in the glare of electric light
every day of your life, but a fog on the Indian Ocean is an experience
by itself... We are going to share it together. I'm quite real, I
assure you, very real. I can take care of you. Come with me!"

His hand slid through her arm, and drew her along; his head was bent
over hers, she met his eyes, and felt the protest die upon her lips.
Without a word she followed where he led, took the seat pointed out,
watched him draw up another, and place himself sideways before her, so
as to form a shield between herself and the outer world. His face
seemed startlingly near to her own; his hand on the side of his chair
almost touched her knees. Katrine fixed her eyes upon it with a
fascinated attention. A moment ago it had rested on her arm, the
electric warmth of the contact still lingered; for a reckless moment she
longed to clasp it, to put it back in its place; then remembrance
dawned, and she shuddered again. The world was grey, without and
within, nothing but mist and gloom. Seated as they were, she and her
companion seemed solitary atoms in a world of fog; to right and left
nothing could be seen but dense grey walls which seemed with every
moment to press more nearly. The wide deck was empty; instead of the
usual babble of talk and laughter there was silence save for the regular
thud of the engines, and from time to time the sound of the horn. The
effec