turn his head, he caught sight of the sentry, Adam Gray, and
it struck him that he, too, was attentively watching the group of
ladies. So convinced did the young officer become of this, that he
could not refrain from watching him.

Once or twice he thought it was only fancy, but at last he felt sure;
and a strange angry sensation sprang up in his breast as he saw the
sentry's countenance change when the ladies passed him.

"An insolent scoundrel!" he muttered. "How dare he?"

Then, as the ladies took their seats at some distance, he began thinking
over what the doctor had said, and wondering whether this man, in whom
he had heretofore taken a great deal of interest, was such a coward; and
in spite of his angry feelings, he could only come to the conclusion
that the doctor was wrong.

But at the same time what he had heard and seen that evening had not
been without its effect, and he found himself irritable and vexed
against this man, while his previous good feelings seemed to be
completely swept away.

At last he rose impatiently, and strolled towards where the ladies were
sitting, and joined in the conversation that was going on round a bucket
of water that the doctor had just had dipped from over the side, and
which he had displayed, full of brilliantly shining points of light,
some of which emitted flashes as he stirred the water with his hands, or
dipped glasses full of it, to hold up for the fair passengers to see.

"All peculiar forms of jelly-fish," he said aloud, as if he were
delivering a lecture, "and all possessing the power of emitting that
beautiful phosphorescent light. There you see, ladies, if I had a spoon
I could skim it off the top of this bucket of water, just like so much
golden cream, and pour it into a glass. Very wonderful, is it not?"

"Look, look, doctor!" said one of the ladies, pointing to the sea, where
a series of vivid flashes rapidly followed one another.

"Yes, my dear, I see," he replied; "that was some fish darting through
the water, and disturbing the medusae. If you watch you can see the
same thing going on all round."

So glorious was the aspect of the sea that the conversation gradually
ceased, and all on the quarter-deck watched the ever-widening lines of
golden water that parted at the stem of the corvette and gradually died
away, or were mingled with the glistening foam churned up by the
propeller.

For the sea seemed to be one blaze of soft lambent light, that