looked up at me with such
roguish, playful eyes, that she warmed my heart, which had been
strangely chilled by the greeting of the poor mad woman. And she said
many hearty things regarding my courage, to which I knew in my heart I
had no claim; but I let her run on, and so, presently, coming more to
possession of herself, she discovered that she was still holding my
hands, the which, indeed, I had been conscious of the while with a very
great pleasure; but at her discovery she dropped them with haste, and
stood back from me a space, and so there came a little coolness into her
talk: yet this lasted not long; for we were both of us young, and, I
think, even thus early we attracted one the other; though, apart from
this, there was so much that we desired each to learn, that we could not
but talk freely, asking question for question, and giving answer for
answer. And thus a time passed, in which the men left us alone, and went
presently to the capstan, about which they had taken the big rope, and
at this they toiled awhile; for already the ship had moved sufficiently
to let the line fall slack.

Presently, the maid, whom I had learnt was niece to the captain's wife,
and named Mary Madison, proposed to take me the round of the ship, to
which proposal I agreed very willingly; but first I stopped to examine
the mizzen stump, and the manner in which the people of the ship had
stayed it, the which they had done very cunningly, and I noted how that
they had removed some of the superstructure from about the head of the
mast, so as to allow passage for the rope, without putting a strain upon
the superstructure itself. Then when I had made an end upon the poop, she
led me down on to the main-deck, and here I was very greatly impressed by
the prodigious size of the structure which they had built about the hulk,
and the skill with which it had been carried out, the supports crossing
from side to side and to the decks in a manner calculated to give great
solidity to that which they upheld. Yet, I was very greatly puzzled to
know where they had gotten a sufficiency of timber to make so large a
matter; but upon this point she satisfied me by explaining that they had
taken up the 'tween decks, and used all such bulkheads as they could
spare, and, further, that there had been a good deal among the dunnage
which had proved usable.

And so we came at last to the galley, and here I discovered the buxom
woman to be installed as cook, and th