sat side-ways on the settee, shading his eyes with his hands. Now
that I saw him in the cold glare of two thirty-two candle-power lamps,
he was awful. I took off my coat and set to work. From a drawer I took
out a suit of underwear, socks, a suit of blue dungarees, a flannel
shirt, an old cap and a pair of bluchers. I rolled these up in a big
bath towel and handed them to Frank. 'Frank,' I said, 'listen.' He
nodded. 'See this key? It fits the bath-room. The bath-room is the last
wooden door in this alleyway. Go down there, open the door, take the key
with you, lock yourself in, switch on the light, have a bath from head
to foot, put these clothes on, roll up those rags in the towel and bring
them back. If you meet anybody take no notice, act as if you belonged.
Here's some soap.'

"I looked up and down the alleyway--no one there. Up and down outside
the watchman slouched on the iron deck. Down below was the drone of the
dynamo and the wheeze and whine of the Weir pumps. 'Go on,' I said.
'Mind, the last wooden door on the right. Don't go round the corner.
Understand?' He looked at me for a moment and then flitted away down the
long iron tunnel. I saw him poke about with his key, his body all
crouched, the white bundle sticking out behind him. And then he
vanished, and the door, heavy teak, slammed.

"I went into the mess-room then, to get some food. The steward as a rule
left supper out for the juniors on duty, but as our young fellow had
deserted I had to get the joint out of the pantry and carve some cold
meat myself. I remember wondering what the Fourth would think if he came
up and found the Chief nosing round the provision locker. There's a
certain dignity, you see, that you mustn't lower before subordinates.
However, he was too busy reading down below. I got a big plate of
sandwiches and a slab of currant cake and went back to my room. I had a
neat little mahogany dumb-waiter near the settee and I put it up and
covered it with a linen towel. I spread the grub on it, and alongside of
it I put a flask of whisky and a syphon of soda. I got quite interested.
I had no idea of what to do with the man when he was washed and fed and
clothed. I got down a box of cigars and set them alongside of the
whisky. After all, he was my brother. I thought of the 'lady of high
rank.' If she'd seen him as I saw him, she would have been satisfied.
What would Gladys think of him? It may have been wrong, but I was rather
pleased with mys