desolate part of the coast of Spain. The officers and
crew of the ship behaved well enough, and though many of them, including
the captain and chief mate, were lost, nearly all the passengers were
safely landed. But though rescued from the sea, there seemed to be
every prospect of their perishing from exposure and famine. With great
difficulty the officer in charge managed to find some rude shelter and
insufficient food for immediate succour, and then, making his way to the
nearest town, he applied to the authorities, and being a linguist who
included something of the language in which Don Quixote was written
amongst his acquisitions, he obtained clothes, food, and a sum of money
for present necessities, with the promise of a vessel to transfer the
unfortunates to Gibraltar.

"Of course he had lost everything when the ship went to pieces, and he
could only get this aid by signing bills and making himself personally
responsible. True, he was engaging himself for more than he could
perform, but he could neither desert these people who were entrusted to
his care, nor stand idly by to see them perish. And he never doubted
but that the authorities at home would take the responsibility off his
hands. They refused to do so, or rather, worse than that, they drove
him about from pillar to post, one official directing him to a second,
the second to a third, the third to the first again. And they made him
fill up forms, and returned them as incorrect, and broke his heart with
subterfuges.

"In the meantime he had to meet the claims, and was impoverished. Then,
excited by this infamous treatment, he forced his way into a great man's
presence, and was violent, and the consequence of his violence was that
he lost his Indian appointment. It was well for him that he did so; but
his story will none the less show you what a country England is to
serve."

Again there was a long period of stillness, broken only by the hubble-
bubble. Gradually the smoker raised his eyes in the direction of his
nephew, but Harry saw that he was looking _beyond_ him, not at him. And
this gaze became so steadfast and eager that he turned his head to see
what attracted it, almost expecting to see a face on the other side of
the window.

There was nothing, but still the intense look remained, and it made
Harry feel as if cold water was running down his back. His uncle spoke
at length, low and slowly at first, more energetically as he went on.