ter her joyous heart until he was
driven to it by dire necessity.

So he resolutely brushed aside the woe-begone phantom of care, and
entered into the _abandon_ of the hour with a zest that delighted
her. The dear girl imagined that Robert, her Robert, had made another
speedy conquest, and Anstruther himself was much elated by the sudden
change in Sir Arthur Deane's demeanor.

They behaved like school children on a picnic. They roared over Iris's
troubles in the matter of divided skirts, too much divided to be at all
pleasant. The shipowner tasted some of her sago bread, and vowed it was
excellent. They unearthed two bottles of champagne, the last of the
case, and promised each other a hearty toast at dinner. Nothing would
content Iris but that they should draw a farewell bucketful of water
from the well and drench the pitcher-plant with a torrential shower.

Robert carefully secured the pocket-books, money and other effects
found on their dead companions. The baronet, of course, knew all the
principal officers of the _Sirdar_. He surveyed these mournful
relics with sorrowful interest.

"The _Sirdar_ was the crack ship of my fleet, and Captain Ross my
most trusted commander," he said. "You may well imagine, Mr.
Anstruther, what a cruel blow it was to lose such a vessel, with all
these people on board, and my only daughter amongst them. I wonder now
that it did not kill me."

"She was a splendid sea-boat, sir. Although disabled, she fought
gallantly against the typhoon. Nothing short of a reef would break her
up."

"Ah, well," sighed the shipowner, "the few timbers you have shown me
here are the remaining assets out of L300,000."

"Was she not insured?" inquired Robert.

"No; that is, I have recently adopted a scheme of mutual
self-insurance, and the loss falls _pro rata_ on my other
vessels."

The baronet glanced covertly at Iris. The words conveyed little meaning
to her. Indeed, she broke in with a laugh--

"I am afraid I have heard you say, father dear, that some ships in the
fleet paid you best when they ran ashore."

"Yes, Iris. That often happened in the old days. It is different now.
Moreover, I have not told you the extent of my calamities. The
_Sirdar_ was lost on March 18, though I did not know it for
certain until this morning. But on March 25 the _Bahadur_ was sunk
in the Mersey during a fog, and three days later the _Jemadar_
turned turtle on the James and Mary shoal in the Hooghly. Happily th