Mrs. Travers found that Lingard was touching, because he could be understood.  How simple was life, she reflected.  She was frank with herself.  She considered him apart from social organization.  She discovered he had no place in it.  How delightful!  Here was a human being and the naked truth of things was not so very far from her notwithstanding the growth of centuries.  Then it occurred to her that this man by his action stripped her at once of her position, of her wealth, of her rank, of her past.  “I am helpless.  What remains?” she asked herself.  Nothing!  Anybody there might have suggested:  “Your presence.”  She was too artificial yet to think of her beauty; and yet the power of personality is part of the naked truth of things.

She looked over her shoulder, and saw the light at the brig’s foreyard-arm burning with a strong, calm flame in the dust of starlight suspended above the coast.  She heard the heavy bump as of a boat run headlong against the ladder.  They were back!  She rose in sudden and extreme agitation.  What should she say?  How much?  How to begin?  Why say anything?  It would be absurd, like talking seriously about a dream.  She would not dare!  In a moment she was driven into a state of mind bordering on distraction.  She heard somebody run up the gangway steps.  With the idea of gaining time she walked rapidly aft to the taffrail.  The light of the brig faced her without a flicker, enormous amongst the suns scattered in the immensity of the night.

She fixed her eyes on it.  She thought:  “I shan’t tell him anything.  Impossible.  No!  I shall tell everything.”  She expected every moment to hear her husband’s voice and the suspense was intolerable because she felt that then she must decide.  Somebody on deck was babbling excitedly.  She devoutly hoped d’Alcacer would speak first and thus put off the fatal moment.  A voice said roughly:  “What’s that?” And in the midst of her distress she recognized Carter’s voice, having noticed that young man who was of a different stamp from the rest of the crew.  She came to the conclusion that the matter could be related jocularly, or—­why not pretend fear?  At that moment the brig’s yard-arm light she was looking at trembled distinctly, and she was dumfounded as if she had seen a commotion in the firmament.  With her lips open for a cry she saw it fall straight down several feet, flicker, and go out.  All perplexity passed from her mind.  This first fact of the danger gave her a thrill of quite a new emotion.  Something had to be done at once.  For some remote reason she felt ashamed of her hesitations.

She moved swiftly forward and under the lamp came face to face with Carter who was coming aft.  Both stopped, staring, the light fell on their faces, and both were struck by each other’s expression.  The four eyes shone wide.

“You have seen?” she asked, beginning to tremble.

“How do you know?” he said, at the same time, evidently surprised.