I am discussing appearances as they are. A survey of the island may
change all these views."

"In what way?"

He turned and pointed to the summit of the tree-covered hill behind
them.

"From that point," he said, "we may see other and larger islands. If
so, they will certainly be inhabited. I am surprised this one is not."

He ended abruptly. They were losing time. Before Iris could join him he
was already hauling a large undamaged case out of the water.

He laughed unmirthfully. "Champagne!" he said, "A good brand, too!"

This man was certainly an enigma. Iris wrinkled her pretty forehead in
the effort to place him in a fitting category. His words and accent
were those of an educated gentleman, yet his actions and manners were
studiously uncouth when he thought she was observing him. The veneer of
roughness puzzled her. That he was naturally of refined temperament she
knew quite well, not alone by perception but by the plain evidence of
his earlier dealings with her. Then why this affectation of coarseness,
this borrowed aroma of the steward's mess and the forecastle?

To the best of her ability she silently helped in the work of salvage.
They made a queer collection. A case of champagne, and another of
brandy. A box of books. A pair of night glasses. A compass. Several
boxes of ship's biscuits, coated with salt, but saved by their
hardness, having been immersed but a few seconds. Two large cases of