nly
to find the door locked from within. For the moment he felt very
strongly inclined to burst his way into the cabin, and haul the man up
on deck, drunk or sober; but upon further reflection he realised that by
the adoption of such a course he would be irretrievably "giving the man
away" to his crew--which it was eminently undesirable to do--so,
muttering to himself, "Let the brute drink himself out; he will perhaps
be better afterwards!" he entered the main cabin and seated himself at
the table, upon which the noonday meal was already spread.

Miss Trevor and he were of course the only persons present, with the
exception of the steward, who was waiting upon them; and presently the
girl, noticing the absence of Purchas, inquired whether he was ill.

"He is not very well, I am sorry to say," answered Leslie, briefly; and
then he turned the conversation into another channel.

But later on, when the steward had left the cabin, he said to Miss
Trevor--

"You were just now inquiring about Purchas; and I told you that he was
not very well. That reply, I must now explain to you, was not strictly
accurate, but I gave it because the steward was present, and I did not
wish to state the actual facts in his presence; for, had I done so, it
is certain that he would have carried the news forward to the men, which
would have been eminently undesirable. The truth, however, is that
Purchas has lately given way to drink, and is at this moment locked in
his cabin, helplessly intoxicated. It is a thousand pities; for the man
has now an excellent opportunity of confirming himself in the command of
this brig, and so establishing himself in the position of ship-master,
if he will but make use of it. That, however, is his affair; not ours.
My reason for telling you this is, that if the present breeze holds we
shall reach the equator by this time to-morrow, at a point where we may
hope to fall in with homeward-bound ships; indeed we may meet with them
at any moment now; I would therefore advise you to pack up your
belongings forthwith, in order that you may be ready to be transferred
to the first suitable craft that comes along."

"Thank you very much for telling me this," answered the girl. "I shall
be more than glad, for many reasons, to once more find myself
`homeward-bound,' as I believe you sailors term it. And although,
thanks to your never-ceasing kindness and consideration, I have been
quite comfortable and happy on board