s arm to her.

She was obliged to take it, much as she disliked to do so, and he
assisted her to the door of her stateroom, where, touching his hat
politely, he left her.

She lay down to rest for a while before gathering up her things
preparatory to going ashore, but the effort of coming down stairs had
so wearied her that almost immediately she fell into a sound sleep.

CHAPTER XIV.

MONA FINDS FRIENDS.

When Mona awoke again it was dark.

The lamps were lighted in the saloon, however, and shone dimly into her
stateroom through the glass in the door.

She at once became conscious that the steamer had stopped, while the
confusion and bustle on deck told her that they had arrived in port and
the vessel was being unloaded.

She hastily arose and dressed to go ashore, and she had hardly completed
her toilet when some one rapped upon her door.

Opening it she found Louis Hamblin standing outside.

"We have arrived," he said. "How soon can you be ready to go ashore?"

"Immediately," Mona replied, then asked: "Where is Mrs. Montague?"

"Waiting for us in the carriage. I thought I would take one invalid at a
time," he responded, smiling.

"What time is it, please?" the young girl asked, thoughtfully.

"Nearly ten o'clock. We are very late arriving to-night."

Mona looked blank at this reply, for she felt that it would be too late
to go to Mr. Graves' that night. She would be obliged to go home with
Mrs. Montague after all, and remain until morning. So she said nothing
about her plans, but followed Louis above to the deck, out across the
gangway to the pier, where a perfect babel prevailed, although at that
moment, in the excitement of getting ashore, she did not notice anything
peculiar about it.

The young man hurried her to the carriage, which proved to be simply a
transportation coach belonging to some hotel, and was filled with people.

"We have concluded to go to a hotel for to-night, since it is so late and
the servants did not know of our coming," Louis explained, as he assisted
his companion to enter the vehicle, which, however, was more like a
river barge than a city coach.

"I do not see Mrs. Montague," Mona said, as she anxiously tried to scan
the faces of the passengers, and now noticed for the first time that most
of them appeared to be foreigners, and were talking in a strange
language.

"Can it be possible that I have made a mistake and got into the wrong
carriage?" said Louis, w