Striking a match viciously, I lit a cigarette and strolled forward.
Either the fellow had fancied that he knew her or he had behaved in
a confoundedly impertinent way. The latter hypothesis seemed, on the
whole, the more likely, and I felt a lively desire to drop him over the
rail.
"But I don't know what a girl of your looks expects, I'm sure," I
grumbled, "setting off on your travels with no chaperon and no companion
and no maid! Where are your father and mother? Where are your brothers?
Where's the old friend of the family who dined with you last night? If
chaps who have no right to walk the same earth with you get insolent,
who is going to teach them their place, and who is going to take care of
you if a U-boat pops out of the sea? Oh, well, never mind. It isn't any
of my business. But just the same if you need my services, I think I'll
tackle the job."
Time was passing; night had fallen. Consulting my watch, I found that it
was seven o'clock. I had been aboard more than two hours. An afternoon
sailing, quotha! At this rate we would be lucky if we got off by dawn.
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