possible to conceive that a substantial object
could have vanished in the time that elapsed between the man falling
down and the flap of sails which had called my attention to the
abandoned helm.

However, nothing was said about the matter aft: the sailors adopted
the doctor's opinion, some viewing the thing as a "Dutchman's" dodge
to get a "night in."

A few days later brought us into
cold weather: this was followed by the ice and conflicts of the Horn.
We drove too far south, and for a week every afternoon we hove-to
under a close-reefed maintopsail for fear of the ice throughout the
long hours of Antarctic blackness. We were in no temper to think of
ghosts, and yet though no one had delivered the news authoritatively,
it had come by this wild bleak time to be known that Captain Griffiths
and Miss Le Grand were engaged. Mrs. Burney told me so one day in the
cuddy, and with a wicked flash of her dark eye wondered that people
could think of making love with icebergs close at hand.

It was no business of mine, and seemingly I gave the matter no heed,
though I could find leisure and curiosity sometimes for an askant
glance at the captain and his beauty when they were at table or when
the weather permitted the lady to come on deck, and their behaviour
left me in very little doubt that he was deeply in love with her; but
whether she was equally enamoured of him I could not guess.

We beat clear of the latitude of roaring gales blind with snow, and
mountainous ice-islands like cities of alabaster in ruins, and seas
ridging in thunder and foam to the height of our mizzentop, and
heading north blew under wide wings of studding sails towards the sun,
every day sinking some southern stars out of sight, and every night
lifting above the sea-line some gem of the heavens dear to northern
eyes.

I went below at eight bells on a Friday morning when we were two
months "out" from Sydney, as I very well remember. The ship had then
caught the first of the south-east trade-wind. All was well when I
left the deck. I was awakened by a hand violently shaking my shoulder.
I sprang up and found Robson, the second mate, standing beside my
bunk. He was pale as the ghost the Dane had described.

"There's been murder done, sir," he cried. "The captain's killed."

I stared at him like a fool, and echoed mechanically and dully:
"Murder done! Captain killed!" Then collecting my wits I tumbled into
my clothes and rushed to the captain's cabin