r he hissed--

"Report yourself for duty in the second saloon tonight," and he hustled
his subordinate away from the judge's chair.

Miss Deane, mirthfully radiant, rose.

"Please don't punish the man, Mr. Jones," she said sweetly. "It was a
sheer accident. He was taken by surprise. In his place I would have
emptied the whole dish."

The chief steward smirked. He did not know exactly what had happened;
nevertheless, great though Sir John Tozer might be, the owner's
daughter was greater.

"Certainly, miss, certainly," he agreed, adding confidentially:--"It
_is_ rather hard on a steward to be sent aft, miss. It makes such
a difference in the--er--the little gratuities given by the
passengers."

The girl was tactful. She smiled comprehension at the official and bent
over Sir John, now carefully polishing the back of his skull with a
table napkin.

"I am sure you will forgive him," she whispered. "I can't say why, but
the poor fellow was looking so intently at me that he did not see what
he was doing."

The ex-Chief Justice was instantly mollified. He did not mind the
application of ice in that way--rather liked it, in fact--probably ice
was susceptible to the fire in Miss Deane's eyes.

Lady Tozer was not so easily appeased. When Iris left the saloon she
inquired tartly: "How is it, John, that Government makes a shipowner a
baronet and a Chief Justice only a knight?"

"That question would provide an interesting subject for debate at the
Carlton, my dear," he replied with equal asperity.

Suddenly the passengers still seated experienced a prolonged sinking
sensation, as if the vessel had been converted into a gigantic lift.
They were pressed hard into their chairs, which creaked and tried to
swing round on their pivots. As the ship yielded stiffly to the sea a
whiff of spray dashed through an open port.

"There," snapped her ladyship, "I knew we should run into a storm, yet
Captain Ross led us to believe---- John, take me to my cabin at once."

From the promenade deck the listless groups watched the rapid advance
of the gale. There was mournful speculation upon the _Sirdar's_
chances of reaching Singapore before the next evening.

"We had two hundred and ninety-eight miles to do at noon," said
Experience. "If the wind and sea catch us on the port bow the ship will
pitch awfully. Half the time the screw will be racing. I once made this
trip in the _Sumatra_, and we were struck by a south-east typhoon
in th