d never winced when I
put my great fingers on her arm. I was all of a tremble, I declare,
with her a smiling up at me, but the wound--it's doing finely; healing
as nice as ever I see, and not a sign of sickness on her. The very
lady as I was saying, for our captain--but here she comes."

This was an unwontedly long speech for Curwen; and, silent again, he
effaced himself discreetly, just in time to avoid the angry
ejaculation that had sprung to his captain's lips, but not without a
backward glance of admiration at the tall, alert figure now bearing
down in their direction with steps already firmly balanced to the
movement of the ship.

At a little distance from Captain Jack, Molly paused as if to
scrutinise the horizon, and enjoy the invigorating atmosphere. In
reality her heart was beating fast, her breath came short; and the
gaze she flung from the faint outline of coast upon one side to the
vast monotony of sparkling sea upon the other conveyed no impression
to her troubled mind. The next instant he was by her side. As she
smiled at him, he noticed that her face was pale, and her eyes darkly
encircled.

"Ah, madam," said he, as he drew close and lifted his hand to his
head, with a gesture of formal courtesy that no doubt somewhat
astonished a couple of his men who were watching the group with covert
smiles and nudges, being as yet unaware of the misadventure, "you
relieve my mind of anxiety. How is the arm? Does it make you suffer
much? No! You must be strong indeed."

"Yes, I am strong," answered she, and flushed, and looked out across
the sea, inhaling the air with dilated nostrils.

Within her, her soul was crying out to him. It was as if there was a
tide there, as fierce and passionate as the waves around her, all
bearing, straining to him, and this with a struggle and flow so
resistless, that she could neither remember the past, nor measure the
future, but only feel herself carried on, beaten and tossed upon these
great waters, like a helpless wreck.

"I trust you are well attended to," began the man constrainedly again.
"I fear you will have to endure much discomfort. I had reckoned----."
Here he halted galled by the thought of what it was he had reckoned
upon, the thought of the watchful love that was to have made of the
little ship a very nest for his bride, of the exquisite joy it was to
have harboured! And he set his teeth at fate.

She played for a while with her little finger tips upon the rail,