Mr. Sternford."

"How?"

The man's smiling eyes had changed. Their dark depths were full of sharp
enquiry. Nancy read only anxiety.

"Why, we were sitting on deck, and it was storming. It was just
terrible. We lurched heavily and shipped a great sea. Our chairs were
flung into the scuppers by the rush of water, and I--why, I guess I was
beaten unconscious and drowning when he got hold of me. He just fought
his way to safety. I didn't know about it till I was safe down in the
saloon. I woke up then, and he was carrying me--"

"Sternford?"

The change in the man's eyes had deepened. Then his smile came back to
them. But that, too, was different. It was curiously fixed and hard.

"You've gone a bit too fast for me," he said. "I don't get things right.
Sternford, the man running Sachigo was with you on the _Myra_? He's
here--in Quebec?"

It was Nancy's great moment.

"Yes," she said, with a restraint that failed to disguise her feelings.
"He's come down to discuss a business arrangement between the
Skandinavia and his enterprise. That's what you wanted--isn't it?"

The man leant forward in his chair. He set his elbows on the desk and
supported his chin in both hands. His smile was still there, and his
eyes were steadily regarding her. But they expressed none of the
surprise and delight Nancy looked for. They were smiling as he literally
forced them to smile.

"You brought him down with you--to meet us?" he asked slowly.

The girl nodded.

"You did your work so well that he entertained the notion sufficiently
to come along down--with you?"

"I--I--he's come down for that purpose."

The man's eyes were searching.

"Where is he?"

"At the Chateau. He's waiting to hear from you for an appointment."

Peterman flung himself back in his chair with a great laugh. Nancy
missed the mirthless tone of it.

"Say, my dear," he cried at last. "How did you do it? How in--You're
just as bright and smart as I reckoned. You've done one big thing and I
guess you've earned all the Skandinavia can hand you. But--"

He broke off, and his gaze drifted away from the face with its vivid
halo. The wintry daylight beyond the window claimed him, and Nancy
waited.

"How did you persuade him to ship down on the _Myra_ with you?" he
asked, after a moment's thought.

"I didn't persuade him. He volunteered."

"Volunteered?"

"Yes. He was coming down on her next trip. You see, he's making England
right away. He guessed he'd c