ho turned to Agatha, pointed to a door
in a bulkhead of rough white wood.

"It should have been locked, but I fancy you can get in that way, and up
through another hatch," he remarked. "The single women, and women with
children, are in yonder, and if you want to be useful there's a field
for you. Get as many as possible up on deck."

Agatha left him, and her face was rather white when at last she came up
into the open air, with about a dozen forlorn, draggled women trailing
helplessly after her. The lads were now sitting down in a double line on
deck, each with a tin plate and a steaming pannikin in front of him.
There were at least a hundred of them, and a man with a bronzed face and
the stamp of command upon him was giving them the order of the voyage.
He was the one she had already noticed.

"You'll turn out at the whistle at half-past six," he said. "Shake
mattresses, roll up blankets, and prepare for berth inspection. Then, at
the next whistle, you'll fall in on deck stripped to the waist for
washing parade. Fourth files numbering even are orderlies in charge of
the plates and pannikins."

"And," announced the sergeant, "any insubordination will be sharply
dealt with. Now, when I was with Roberts in Afghanistan----"

Wyllard, who was standing close by, turned to Agatha.

"I don't think we'll be wanted. You have probably earned your
breakfast."

They went back to the saloon deck, and the girl smiled when he looked at
her inquiringly.

"It was a little horrible, but I hadn't so many to deal with," she said.
"Do you, and those others, expect to bring any order out of that chaos?"

"No," answered Wyllard, "with a little encouragement they'll do it
themselves. That is, the English, Danes, and Germans. One can trust them
to evolve a workable system. It's in their nature. You can trace most
things that tend to wholesome efficiency back to the old Teutonic
leaven. By and by, they'll proceed to put some pressure on the Latins,
Slavs, and Jews."

"But is it your business to offer them that encouragement?"

Wyllard laughed. "Strictly speaking, it isn't in the least, but
unnecessary chaos is hateful, and, any way, I'm not the only one who
doesn't seem to like it. There's the petty officer, and our friend, the
sergeant, who was with Roberts in Afghanistan."

Agatha said nothing further. She was a little surprised to feel that she
was anxious to keep this man's good opinion, though that was not exactly
why she had