One day Jacobus came in early and, beckoning me into the dining-
room, wiped his brow with a weary gesture and told me that he had
managed to unearth a supply of quarter-bags.

"It's fourteen hundred your ship wanted, did you say, Captain?"

"Yes, yes!" I replied eagerly; but he remained calm. He looked
more tired than I had ever seen him before.

"Well, Captain, you may go and tell your people that they can get
that lot from my brother."

As I remained open-mouthed at this, he added his usual placid
formula of assurance:

"You'll find it correct, Captain."

"You spoke to your brother about it?" I was distinctly awed. "And
for me? Because he must have known that my ship's the only one
hung up for bags. How on earth--"

He wiped his brow again. I noticed that he was dressed with
unusual care, in clothes in which I had never seen him before. He
avoided my eye.

"You've heard people talk, of course. . . . That's true enough. He
. . . I . . . We certainly. . . for several years . . ." His voice
declined to a mere sleepy murmur. "You see I had something to tell
him of, something which--"