composure; and Herrick looked
upon him with something that was almost terror.

"Don't think I'm crazy neither," resumed Davis. "I've all the cold sense
that I know what to do with. But I guess a man that's unhappy's like a
child; and this is a kind of a child's game of mine. I never could act
up to the plain-cut truth, you see; so I pretend. And I warn you square;
as soon as we're through with this talk, I'll start in again with the
pretending. Only, you see, she can't walk no streets," added the
captain, "couldn't even make out to live and get that doll!"

Herrick laid a tremulous hand upon the captain's shoulder.

"Don't do that!" cried Davis, recoiling from the touch. "Can't you see
I'm all broken up the way it is? Come along, then; come along, old man;
you can put your trust in me right through; come along and get dry
clothes."

They entered the cabin, and there was Huish on his knees prizing open a
case of champagne.

"'Vast there!" cried the captain. "No more of that. No more drinking on
this ship."

"Turned teetotal, 'ave you?" inquired Huish. "I'm agreeable. About time,
eh? Bloomin' nearly lost another ship, I fancy." He took out a bottle
and began calmly to burst the wire with the spike of a corkscrew.

"Do you hear me speak?" cried Davis.

"I suppose I do. You speak loud enough," said Huish. "The trouble is
that I don't care."

Herrick plucked the captain's sleeve. "Let him free now," he said.
"We've had all we want this morning."

"Let him have it, then," said the captain. "It's his last."

By this time the wire was open, the string was cut, the head of gilded
paper was torn away; and Huish waited, mug in hand, expecting the usual
explosion. It did not follow. He eased the cork with his thumb; still
there was no result. At last he took the screw and drew it. It came out
very easy and with scarce a sound.

"'Illo!" said Huish. "'Ere's a bad bottle."

He poured some of the wine into the mug; it was colourless and still. He
smelt and tasted it.

"W'y, wot's this?" he said. "It's water!"

If the voice of trumpets had suddenly sounded about the ship in the
midst of the sea, the three men in the house could scarcely have been
more stunned than by this incident. The mug passed round; each sipped,
each smelt of it; each stared at the bottle in its glory of gold paper
as Crusoe may have stared at the footprint; and their minds were swift
to fix upon a common apprehension. The difference between a b