rule of life--and death. With sleep thought ends, therefore for some of
us your catastrophe is much to be desired, for it would mean long sleep
and no thought."

"I said that they were changed, not that they had ceased to think.
Perhaps they thought the more."

"Then let us pray that your catastrophe may be averted. I prescribe
for you bismuth and carbonate of soda. Also in this weather it seems
difficult to imagine such a thing. Look now, Miss Clifford," he added,
with a note of enthusiasm in his voice, pointing towards the east,
"look."

Her eyes followed his outstretched hand, and there, above the level
ocean, rose the great orb of the African moon. Lo! of a sudden all that
ocean turned to silver, a wide path of rippling silver stretched from
it to them. It might have been the road of angels. The sweet soft light
beat upon their ship, showing its tapering masts and every detail of the
rigging. It passed on beyond them, and revealed the low, foam-fringed
coast-line rising here and there, dotted with kloofs and their clinging
bush. Even the round huts of Kaffir kraals became faintly visible in
that radiance. Other things became visible also--for instance, the
features of this pair.

The man was light in his colouring, fair-skinned, with fair hair which
already showed a tendency towards greyness, especially in the moustache,
for he wore no beard. His face was clean cut, not particularly handsome,
since, their fineness notwithstanding, his features lacked regularity;
the cheekbones were too high and the chin was too small, small faults
redeemed to some extent by the steady and cheerful grey eyes. For