him whether he did think there was anywhere on earth a woman abandoned
enough to mate with such a monster. "Did he? Did he? Did he?" I tried
to restrain him. He tore himself out of my hands; he found his slipper,
and, endeavouring to put it on, stormed standing on one leg--and Falk,
with a face unmoved and averted eyes, grasped all his mighty beard in
one vast palm.

"Was it right then for me to die myself?" he asked thoughtfully. I laid
my hand on his shoulder.

"Go away," I whispered imperiously, without any clear reason for this
advice, except that I wished to put an end to Hermann's odious noise.
"Go away."

He looked searchingly for a moment at Hermann before he made a move.
I left the cabin too to see him out of the ship. But he hung about the
quarter-deck.

"It is my misfortune," he said in a steady voice.

"You were stupid to blurt it out in such a manner. After all, we don't
hear such confidences every day."

"What does the man mean?" he mused in deep undertones. "Somebody had to
die--but why me?"

He remained still for a time in the dark--silent; almost invisible. All
at once he pinned my elbows to my sides. I felt utterly powerless in his
grip, and his voice, whispering in my ear, vibrated.