being looked at; in fact, he suffered the admiration of the public with
noble tolerance: only it must keep its distance; he could have no
presuming.

On his arrival the conversation suffered a sudden chill; but the
captain, who knew the signs of approaching icebergs, soon steered the
talk back into warm waters. It was evident that the captain was in the
habit of occupying the center of the stage, a fact which should have
gratified Percival, inasmuch as it focused attention at the far end
of the table. Strange to say, he was not gratified. He conceived an
immediate dislike for the large, good-looking officer, who seemed built
especially to show off his smart uniform, and who brazenly ignored all
conventions save those of navigation, His peculiarities of speech, which
at another time might have gratified Percival and confirmed the report
he was bearing back to England that Americans were, if possible, more
obnoxious at home than abroad, now jarred upon him grievously. He found
it difficult to follow the story that was causing the present merriment.

"And when my Nelson eye discovered," the captain was concluding, "that
Ah Foo was perambulating an affair in Shanghai, I summoned the slave and
asked him if his mind was set on becoming festooned in matrimony. He
thought it was. So I up and bought the damsel for him, paid one hundred
Mex. for her, and, if you'll believe me, haven't had a dime's worth of
work out of Ah Foo since!"

Percival found himself on the dry beach of non-comprehension when the
tide of laughter followed the receding story,

"A cup of very strong tea and dry toast," he said over his shoulder to
the waiting Chinaman.