The Honorable Percival

with a swiftness that was incredible. To Percival the one desirable thing in life had come to be the sailing of the high seas under f

f taking his attentions seriously he would kindly, but firmly, make her understand. It would not be the first time he had had to do this. He recalled several instances with sad complacency. But a man cannot alway

xerted a powerful influence on Percival, causing him to change his entire mode of life from his hour of getting up to his hour of retiring. In o

tinued to treat him as the friend of his bosom. Percival could hate him contemptuously when he was out of sight, but he found it diff

, like most fellows. I always splash right in, head first. That's what I did the first night I came on boar

e meanwhile he wondered what Bobby could find

r joy, Bobby announced that she was going again to the crow's-nest. She had circled the deck some ten times between her two cava

se weight made him cautious. "It's a mean climb,

see," said Bobby and

g. He remembered the exact phrase he had applied to it when told by the Scotchman of Bobby's

uor, he said, "I don't

waists and stand guard below while they slowly and

Bobby, looking down

ercival, with suggestion

t above the water below, they found themselves in the sudden intimacy of a vast and magnificent solitude. The sapphire sky met the sapphire sea in a shar

ng, he saw the water suddenly disturbed by hundreds of curved bodies that

," he said, "always making ci

ttention is called to them by a small and shapely hand that forgets in the enthusiasm of the moment to remove itself from one

pocket. "Deuced clever of you, I call it, to think of coming

," said Bobby. "He doe

om the way he walked with us every eve

g eyes. "That's almost exactly what he sa

did he

n," sai

that had become less frequent of late. At such times he marv

st extraordinary expressio

er that

ha

got to the Bobby stage. Perhaps

nk I should

ffing away at his cigar, and she gazing off to the

ve?" she asked, turn

said, scrutinizing

. I thought young Englishmen with names and

are rather different. Of course there have been a l

love with you? Go ahe

nd he had to unbutton his coat just f

" she went on; "I want to kno

ed I wa

l me about it from

u know it

said Bobby, confid

ct that the confiding of an unhappy love affair to a sympathetic member of the opposite sex seems a necessary stage of convalescence. It was the first chance he had h

of honor I'd have gone through with it. Fortunately,

but in regard to whom a kindly jury would ha

all through," cried Bobby. "What sort of a

is cigar; it was astonishing how much he wa

best, you know. Dare say she

! Was she

ons di

ma

the

ol

tly jolly; that's n

oper, I

most decidedly so. Per

y si

way through. Well, I'm glad you w

" said Percival. "Now it's yo

our scheme seems to be working with the captain. We've got him guessi

y n

you like me

do you

e railing, with her dancing eyes on a level with his own, and nothing el

closely; "most men get a red nose or else they get all speckled

" he said; "but you haven'

t ab

liking you

e captain e

't exagger

u like me when

ever met any one before who understood you as I do. Quite ex

ork on me! Do you think anybody will re

omplained Percival. "You

be serious, and belie

direful consequences if she should, b

and that I wouldn't give half a sovereign for any other girl's chances if you were within ten

ed the rope a

eep on saying things like that, I may furnish another scalp to that co

d her down the ladder as if he h

w on the list of places about a ship which the

gested Bobby when Percival complained

lained of not seeing her as often as he wished. "We sing up on the bo

to leave the steamer at Yokohama and join it three days later at Kobe. Percival was annoyed because the steamer had to stop at all. Any interruption in the present routine was a nuisance. He vacillated between the

was just ready to go below for the night when an overmastering desire for one more word with Bobby seized him. By a bit

act, and she had responded with adorable docility. He never admired himself more than in the r?le of cicerone to a young and trusting maid. By the subtlest methods he knew how to convey approval or disappr

es. It was incredible how many things they found to talk about, considering the fact that art, literature, music, the drama, foreign travel, and Londo

arting word seemed to Percival really more than he had a right to ask of himself. He circled

ng stream across the level surface of the sea. The quarter-deck, the white boa

n indistinguishable group that huddled together under

oynton for a moment?"

tting on my feet, and Andy and I've got on the same sw

e, he had actually doubled up his long legs and crawled into the small space Bobby made for him beside her. If she persisted in preferr

Percival soon decided that even though it was deuced uncomfortable to be

ser group. Percival could feel Bobby breathing near him, and could look down undisturbed into her upturned face as she sang with passionate abandon to the moon.

her small fingers closed responsively over his, such a thrill of satisfaction passed over him as he had never felt before. His old wounds were suddenly healed,

y hand, Mr. Hascombe,

o it. Andy's got the other one; but if you don't mind, we'll

y in his life; he even included himself in his devastating wrath. Why shouldn't he have been insulted, laug

ed together the curtains of his be