d I continued to pace the deck. By
this time the news of our having been married had travelled forwards,
conveyed to the Jacks and to the steerage passengers, as I took it, by
one of the stewards. It was the sailors' dinner hour, and I could see
twenty of them on the forecastle staring at us as one man, whilst every
time we advanced to the edge of the poop, where the rail protected the
deck, there was a universal upturning of bearded, rough faces, with
much pointing and nodding among the women.

After all this the luncheon table was something of a relief, despite
the rows of people at it. I was afraid from the manner in which
Captain Parsons from time to time regarded us that he was rehearsing a
speech, a menace I could not think of without silent horror since it
must inevitably compel a reply from me. However, nothing was said, and
we lunched in peace, much looked at, particularly by the ladies, as you
will suppose; but I found Grace easier under this inspection than I
should have dared to hope; possibly she was now getting used to it.
She divided her conversation between me and Mr. Higginson, who sat at
her left, and she wore a very sweet and easy manner, charming with its
girlish grace of dignity. Her breeding showed to perfection at that
time, I thought. It was probably rendered more defined to my mind by
the looks and behaviour of the other ladies, all of them, to be sure, a
very good sort of homely, friendly people, with something of the true
lady indeed in Mrs. Barstow.

CHAPTER XIII

THE MERMAID

Nothing was said about the marriage.

The privacy of the affair lay as a sort of obligation of silence upon
the kindly-natured passengers, and though, as I have said, they could
not keep their eyes off us, their conversation was studiedly remote
from the one topic about which we were all thinking. Lunch was almost
ended when I spied the second mate peering down at us through the glass
of the sky-light, and in a few minutes he descended the cabin ladder,
and said something in a low voice to the captain.

"By George, Grace!" said I, grasping her hand as it lay on her lap, and
whipping out with the notion put into me by a look I caught from the
captain. "I believe the second mate has come down to report a ship in
sight."

She started, and turned eagerly in the direction of the captain, who
had quickly given the mate his orders, for already the man had returned
on deck.

Mrs. Barstow, seated close t