As he did this his hand came
in contact with a tube in one of the pockets, and for a moment he
imagined it was his revolver, but he found it was the metal syringe he
had purchased that evening from the chemist. This set his thoughts
whirling in another direction. He took from an inside pocket one of
the bottles of ozak, examining it under the candle light, wishing he
had a piece of rock with which to experiment. Then with a yawn he
replaced the materials in his overcoat pocket, took off his boots, and
threw himself on the bed, thankful it was not an ordinary shelf bunk,
but a generous and comfortable resting-place. Now Katherine appeared
before his closed eyes, and hand in hand they wandered into dreamland
together.
When he awoke it was pitch dark in his cabin. The candles, which he
had neglected to extinguish, had burned themselves out. The short,
jerky motion of the steamer indicated that he was aboard a small
vessel, and that this small vessel was out in the open sea. He
believed that a noise of some kind had awakened him, and this was
confirmed by a knock at his door which caused him to spring up and
throw back the bolt. The steward was there, but in the dim light of
the passage he saw nothing of the sentinel. He knew it was daylight
outside.
"The Captain, Excellency, wishes to know if you will breakfast with
him or take your meal in your room?"
"Present my compliments to the Captain, and say I shall have great
pleasure in breakfasting with him.
Pages:
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161