as overcast, and the
night seemed unusually sombre. Figures were moving all around her, there
was noise and confusion of voices, and a general pushing and shouting
which seemed strangely weird in this gloom. Here among the poorer
passengers, there had not been thought any necessity for a light, one
solitary lantern fixed to a mast only enhanced the intense blackness of
everything around. Now and then a face would come within range of this
meagre streak of yellow light, looking strangely distorted, with
great, elongated shadows across the brow and chin, a grotesque, ghostly
apparition which quickly vanished again, scurrying off like some
frightened gnome, giving place other forms, other figures all equally
grotesque and equally weird.

Marguerite watched them all half stupidly and motionlessly for awhile.
She did not quite know what she ought to do, and did not like to ask any
questions: she was dazed and the darkness blinded her. Then gradually
things began to detach themselves more clearly. On looking straight
before her, she began to discern the landing place, the little wooden
bridge across which the passengers walked one by one from the boat unto
the jetty. The first-class passengers were evidently all alighting now:
the crowd of which Marguerite formed a unit, had been pushed back in a
more compact herd, out of the way for the moment, so that their betters
might get along more comfortably.

Beyond the landing stage a little booth had been erected, a kind of
tent, open in front and lighted up within by a couple of lanthorns.
Under this tent there was a table, behind which sat a man dressed in
some sort of official looking clothes, and wearing the tricolour scarf
across his chest.

All the passengers from the boat had apparently to file past this tent.
Marguerite could see them now quite distinctly, the profiles of the
various faces, as they paused for a moment in front of the table, being
brilliantly illuminated by one of the lanterns. Two sentinels wearing
the uniform of the National Guard stood each side of the table. The
passengers one by one took out their passport as they went by, handed
it to the man in the official dress, who examined it carefully, very
lengthily, then signed it and returned the paper to its owner: but at
times, he appeared doubtful, folded the passport and put it down in
front of him: the passenger would protest; Marguerite could not hear
what was said, but she could see that some argumen