behind us. Jones heard me moving, and turned.

"Your friend below must be pretty bad, sir," he said. "Your
lady-love has been asking for you. I wouldn't let them wake you."

"My--what?"

He waxed apologetic at once.

"That's just my foolishness, Leslie," he said. "No disrespect to
the lady, I'm sure. If it ain't so, it ain't, and no harm done.
If it is so, why, you needn't be ashamed, boy. 'The way of a man
with a maid,' says the Book."

"You should have called me, Jones," I said sharply. "And no
nonsense of that sort with the men."

He looked hurt, but made no reply beyond touching his cap. And,
while I am mentioning that, I may speak of the changed attitude of
the men toward me from the time they put me in charge. Whether the
deference was to the office rather than the man, or whether in
placing me in authority they had merely expressed a general feeling
that I was with them rather than of them, I do not know. I am
inclined to think the former. The result, in any case, was the same.
They deferred to me whenever possible, brought large and small
issues alike to me, served me my food alone, against my protestations,
and, while navigating the ship on their own responsibility, took care
to come to me for authority for everything.

Before I went below that morning, I suggested that some of the spare