ings. You should take them more
philosophically. For my part I always confide myself trustingly to these
people. I enter a ship or railroad car with perfect faith. I say to
myself, 'This captain, or this conductor, is a responsible man, selected
with a view to my safety and comfort; he understands how to procure that
safety and that comfort better than I do. He worries himself; he
spends hours and nights of vigil to look after me and carry me to my
destination. Why should I worry myself, who can only assist him by
passive obedience? Why'--" But here he was interrupted by a headlong
plunge of the Excelsior, a feminine shriek that was half a laugh, the
rapid patter of small feet and sweep of flying skirts down the slanting
deck, and the sudden and violent contact of a pretty figure.

The next moment he had forgotten his philosophy, and his companion his
business. Both flew to the assistance of the fair intruder, who, albeit
the least injured of the trio, clung breathlessly to the bulwarks.

"Miss Keene!" ejaculated both gentlemen.

"Oh dear! I beg your pardon," said the young lady, reddening, with a
naive mingling of hilarity and embarrassment. "But it seemed so stuffy
in the cabin, and it seemed so easy to get out on deck and pull myself
up by the railings; and just as I got up here, I suddenly seemed to be
sliding down the roof of a house."

"And now that you're here, your courage should be rewarded," said the
Senor, gallantly assisting her to a settee, which he lashed securely.
"You are perfectly safe now," he added, holding the end of the rope in
his hand to allow a slight sliding movement of the seat as the vessel
rolled. "And here is a glorious spectacle for you. Look! the sun is just
rising."

The young girl glanced over the vast expanse before her with sparkling
eyes and a suddenly awakened fancy that checked her embarrassed smile,
and fixed her pretty, parted lips with wonder. The level rays of the
rising sun striking the white crests of the lifted waves had suffused
the whole ocean with a pinkish opal color: the darker parts of each wave
seemed broken into facets instead of curves, and glittered sharply. The
sea seemed to have lost its fluidity, and become vitreous; so much so,
that it was difficult to believe that the waves which splintered
across the Excelsior's bow did not fall upon her deck with the ring of
shattered glass.

"Sindbad's Valley of Diamonds!" said the young girl, in an awed whisper.

"I