as she
undressed she hardly knew whether she had enjoyed herself or not.

CHAPTER II

IN THE BAY OF BISCAY

On the night on which Cicely Clinton was enjoying herself at the Court
Ball, the _Punjaub_ homeward bound from Australia _via_ Colombo and the
Suez Canal was steaming through the Bay of Biscay, which, on this night
of June had prepared a pleasant surprise for the _Punjaub's_ numerous
passengers by lying calm and still under a bright moon.

Two men were leaning over the side of the upper deck, watching the
phosphorescent gleam of the water as it slid past beneath them, and
talking as intimate friends. They were Ronald Mackenzie, the explorer,
returning home after his adventurous two years' expedition into the
wilds of Tibet, and Jim Graham, whose home was at Mountfield, three
miles away from Kencote, where the Clintons lived. They were not
intimate friends, in spite of appearances. They had joined the ship
together at Colombo, and found themselves occupying the same cabin. But
acquaintanceship ripens so fast on board ship that the most dissimilar
characters may adhere to one another for as long as a voyage lasts,
although they may never meet again afterwards, nor particularly wish to.

Mackenzie was a tall, ruggedly fashioned man, with greying hair and a
keen, bold face. Jim Graham was more slightly built. He had an open,
honest look; he was rather deliberate in speech, and apparently in
thought, for in conversation he would often pause before speaking, and
he sometimes ignored a question altogether, as if he had not heard it,
or had not understood it. There were those who called him stupid; but it
was usually said of him that he was slow and sure. He had a rather ugly
face, but it was that pleasant ugliness which, with a well-knit athletic
body, clear eyes and a tanned skin, is hardly distinguishable, in a man,
from good looks.

They were talking about London. "I can smell it and see it," said
Mackenzie. "I hope it will be raining when I get home. I like the wet
pavements, and the lights, and the jostling crowds. Lord! it will be
good to see it again. How I've pined for it, back there! But I'll be out
of it again in a month. It's no place for a man like me, except to get
back to every now and then."

"That's how most of us take it," said Jim, "unless we have to work
there. I'm glad I haven't to, though I enjoy it well enough for a week
or two, occasionally."

"Do you live in the country all the