of a minute he remained in this attitude, then, descending from the
grating, he made his way slowly along the deck and came toward the place
where I stood.

Afraid of I know not what, I shrank back into the shadow of the hatch.
Had he discovered my presence I feel convinced, in the humour in which
he then was, he would have done his best to kill me. Fortunately,
however, my presence was unsuspected, and he went below without seeing
me. Then, wiping great beads of sweat from my forehead, I stumbled to
the nearest skylight, and, seating myself upon it, endeavoured to regain
my composure. Once more I asked myself the question, "Who and what was
this man into whose power I had fallen?"

CHAPTER IX.

The captain was not very far out in his reckoning when he prophesied
that the unusual calm of the previous evening betokened the approach of
a storm. Every one who has had experience of the Mediterranean is aware
with what little warning gales spring up. At daybreak the weather may be
all that can be desired, and in the evening your ship is fighting her
way along in the teeth of a hurricane. In this particular instance, when
I turned into my bunk after the fright Pharos had given me, as narrated
in the preceding chapter, the sea was as smooth as glass and the sky
innocent of a single cloud. When I opened my eyes on the morning
following, the yacht was being pitched up and down and to and fro like a
cork. A gale of wind was blowing overhead, while every timber sent forth
an indignant protest against the barbarity to which it was being
subjected. From the pantry, beyond the saloon companion-ladder, a
clatter of breaking glass followed every roll, while I was able to
estimate the magnitude of the seas the little vessel was encountering by
the number of times her propeller raced as she hung suspended in
mid-air. For upward of an hour I remained in my bunk, thinking of the
singular events of the night before and telling myself that were it not
for the Fraeulein Valerie I could find it in my heart to wish myself out
of the yacht and back in my own comfortable studio once more. By seven
o'clock my curiosity was so excited as to what was doing on deck that I
could no longer remain inactive. I accordingly scrambled out of bed and
dressed myself, a proceeding which, owing to the movement of the vessel,
was attended with no small amount of difficulty, and then, clutching at
everything that would permit of a grip, I passed out o