of prompt obedience. The knowledge that I was now a slave, on a level
with these others, compelled to perform menial labor under the very
eyes of Dorothy Fairfax and that sneering Spaniard, cut my pride to
the quick. In my trips back and forth I kept my eyes averted, never
once venturing to glance toward them, until this work had been
accomplished. But when we stood idle, while Sam went aft for
instructions, I had recovered sufficient nerve to turn my eyes in that
direction, only to observe that the young woman sat with head turned
away, gazing out over the rail at the shore, her chin cupped in her
hands, her thoughts apparently far away. Strange as it may seem her
obvious indifference hurt me oddly, my only comprehension being that
she did not in the least care; that in fact she had already entirely
dismissed me from her mind. This supposition, whether true or false,
instantly hardened me to my fate, and I stared at Sanchez, meeting his
eyes fairly, at once angered by the sneer on his lips and the open
insult of his manner. He turned toward her, fingering a cheroot, and
said something; but, though she answered, her head remained
motionless, her eyes searching the shore indifferently. A figure or
two appeared along the summit of the bank, voices calling to Fairfax,
who stood up as he replied, ending the conversation with a wave of the
hand to Sam, who had taken position at the wheel. The latter began
shouting orders in a shrill voice. Carr cast off, and, with the negro
and myself at the halliards, the mainsail rose to the caps, while we
began gliding out from the shore into the deeper water. By the time we
had hoisted the jib, and made all secure, we were out far enough to
feel the full force of the stiff breeze, the _Adele_ careening until
her rail was awash, the white canvas soaring above us against the
misty blue of the sky.

There was little to be done after the ropes had been coiled away, and