Ya-nei, for his part, looked in vain for some means of speaking to his
neighbor. When the meal was finished, he returned to his ship and lay
down on his bed.

But Elegant was so much occupied in thinking of the young man that she
could not touch her dinner. Leaving her mother alone, she retired to
rest and was on the point of going to sleep, when the sound of a song
came to her. It was the voice of Ya-nei, singing:

A dream has come to me from the Blue Bowl,
But I was not able to speak.
I could not tell her of my delight
Or appoint an endless alliance.

She rose softly, opened her cabin door without sound and went up on
to the bridge. Ya-nei was standing on the other ship, and immediately
leaped to her side, and boldly took her in his arms. Between joy and
alarm, she did not dare to resist. He drew her into her cabin and
embraced her.

At that moment one of the slaves passed before the cabin and, seeing
the door open, cried out:

"The door is open! O thieves!"

Elegant at once covered her lover with the blanket, but one of the
slaves saw the invader's feet. Ho Chang and his wife snatched away the
blanket.