the face of the earth, but sure of a tenderly remembered existence
as long as I live. No anchor could have gone down foul under Mr.
B-'s piercing eye. It was good for one to be sure of that when, in
an open roadstead, one heard in the cabin the wind pipe up; but
still, there were moments when I detested Mr. B- exceedingly. From
the way he used to glare sometimes, I fancy that more than once he
paid me back with interest. It so happened that we both loved the
little barque very much. And it was just the defect of Mr. B-'s
inestimable qualities that he would never persuade himself to
believe that the ship was safe in my hands. To begin with, he was
more than five years older than myself at a time of life when five
years really do count, I being twenty-nine and he thirty-four;
then, on our first leaving port (I don't see why I should make a
secret of the fact that it was Bangkok), a bit of manoeuvring of
mine amongst the islands of the Gulf of Siam had given him an
unforgettable scare. Ever since then he had nursed in secret a
bitter idea of my utter recklessness. But upon the whole, and
unless the grip of a man's hand at parting means nothing whatever,
I conclude that we did like each other at the end of two years and
three months well enough.

The bond between us was the ship; and therein a ship, though she
has female attributes and is loved very unreasonably, is different
from a woman. That I should have been tremendously smitten with my
first command is nothing to wonder at, but I suppose I must admit
that Mr. B-'s sentiment was of a higher order. Each of us, of
course, was extremely anxious about the good appearance of the
beloved object; and, though I was the one to glean compliments
ashore, B- had the more intimate pride of feeling, resembling that
of a devoted handmaiden. And that sort of faithful and proud