far from Queenstown. We can put you ashore there by losing
half a day."

The girl had been ill, wracked in body and distraught in mind, with the
added horror of knowing that rats were scampering over the deck close
to her in the noisy darkness, but she summoned a half laugh at his
words.

"You are still saying the wrong thing, Mr. Hozier," she murmured. "The
_Andromeda_ will not put into Queenstown. From this hour I become a
passenger, not a stowaway. My uncle knows now that I am here. Thank
you, you need not hold me any longer. I have quite recovered. Captain
Coke is on the bridge, you said? I can find my way; this ship is no
stranger to me."

And away she went, justifying her statements by tripping rapidly
forward. The mere sight of her created boundless excitement among such
members of the crew as were on deck, but the shock administered to Mr.
Watts was of that intense variety often described as electric. In the
matter of disposing of large quantities of ardent spirits he was a
seasoned vessel, and, as a general rule, the first day at sea sufficed
to clear his brain from the fumes of the last orgy on shore. But, to
be effective, the cure must not be too drastic. This morning, after
leaving the bridge, he had fortified his system with a liberal
allowance of rum and milk. Breakfast ended, he took another dose of
the same mixture as a "steadier," and he was just leaving the messroom
when he set eyes on Iris. Of course, he refused to believe his eyes.
Had they not deceived him many times?

"Ha!" said he, "a bit liverish," and he pressed a rough hand firmly
downward from forehead to cheek-bones. When he looked again, the girl
was much nearer.

"Lord luv' a duck, this time I've got 'em for sure!" he groaned.

His lower jaw dropped, he stared unblinkingly, and purple veins bulged
crookedly on his seamed forehead. He was bereft of the power of
movement. He stood stock-still, blocking the narrow gangway.

"Good morning, Mr. Watts. You remember me, don't you?" said Iris,
showing by her manner that she wished to pass him.

A slight roll of the ship assisted in the disintegration of Watts. He
collapsed sideways into the cook's galley, the door of which was
hospitably open. Somewhat frightened by the wildness of his looks,
Iris ran on, and dashed at the foot of the companion rather
breathlessly. The keen air was already tingeing her cheeks with color.
When she reached the bridge, where Captain Cok