talking, and presently drifted away. The whole ship from end to end
hummed like a hive of bees.

She was glad when at length she was able to escape from the noisy
saloon. She had not slept well, and her nerves were on edge. The memory
of that interrupted conversation with West, of the confidence unspoken,
went with her continually. She had an almost feverish longing to see him
once more, even though it were in the heart of the crowd. He had been
about to tell her something. Of that she was certain. She had an
intense, an almost passionate desire to know what it was. Surely he
would not--he could not--go ashore without seeing her again!

She had not intended to open the packet he had given her till she was
ashore herself, but a palpitating curiosity tugged ever at her
resolution till at length she could resist it no longer. West was
nowhere to be seen, and she felt she must know more. It was intolerable
to be thus left in the dark. Through the scurrying multitude of
departing passengers, she began to make her way back to her cabin. Her
progress was of necessity slow, and once in a crowded corner she was
stopped altogether.

Two men were talking together close to her. Their backs were towards
her, and in the general confusion they did not observe her futile
impatience to pass.

"Oh, I knew the fellow was a wrong 'un, all along," were the first words
that filtered to the girl's consciousness as she stood. "But I didn't
think he was responsible for that card trick, I must say. Young Bathurst
looked so abominably hangdog."

It was the Englishman, Norton, who spoke, and the man who stood with him
was Rudd. Cynthia realised the near presence of the latter with a
sensation of disgust. His drawling tones grated upon her intolerably.

"Waal," he said, "it was just that card trick that opened my eyes--I
shouldn't have noticed him, otherwise. I knew that young Bathurst was
square. He hasn't the brains to be anything else. And when this chap
butted in with his thick-ribbed impudence, I guessed right then that we
hadn't got a beginner to deal with. After that I watched for a bit, and
there were several little things that made me begin to reflect. So the
next evening I got a wireless message off to my partner in New York, and
I reckon that did the trick. When we came up alongside this morning, the
vultures were all ready for him. I took them to his cabin myself. There
was no fuss at all. He saw it was all up, and gave in without