ng lady," answered the skipper heartily.
"Whatever it may prove possible to do, I will do for them. If they are
to be drowned it shall be through no lack of effort on my part to save
them. And now, if you will excuse me, I will leave Mr Conyers to
entertain you, while I go on deck and see how things look."

The girl instantly froze again. "I will not inflict myself upon Mr
Conyers--who is doubtless dying for his after-breakfast smoke," she
answered, with a complete return of all her former hauteur of manner.
"I have finished breakfast, and shall join Lady O'Brien on deck."

And therewith she rose from her seat and, despite the wild movements of
the ship, made her way with perfect steadiness and an assured footing
toward the ladder or stairs that led downward to the sleeping-rooms, on
her way to her cabin.

"A queer girl, by George!" exclaimed Dacre, as she disappeared. "She
seems quite determined to keep everybody at a properly respectful
distance--especially _you_. Have you offended her?"

"Certainly not--so far as I am aware," I answered. "It is pride,
skipper; nothing but pride. She simply deems herself of far too fine a
clay to associate with ordinary human pots and pans. Well, she may be
as distant as she pleases, so far as I am concerned; for, thank God, I
am not in love with her, despite her surpassing beauty!"

And forthwith I seized my cap, and followed the captain up the companion
ladder to the poop.

Upon my arrival on deck I found that we were under way once more, Mr
Murgatroyd having set the fore-topmast staysail and swung the head
yards; and now, with the mate in the weather mizen rigging to con the
ship through the terrific sea that was running, we were "jilling" along
down toward the wreck, which, from the height of the poop, now showed on
the horizon line whenever we both happened to top a surge at the same
moment. The entire cuddy party were by this time assembled on the poop,
and every eye was intently fixed upon the small, misty image that at
irregular intervals reared itself sharply upon the jagged and undulating
line of the horizon, and I believe that every telescope and opera-glass
in the ship was brought to bear upon it. After studying her carefully
through my own powerful instrument for about ten minutes I made her out
to be a small barque, of about five hundred tons register, with her
foremast gone at a height of about twenty feet from the deck, her
main-topmast gone just above