Captain Derrick gave a nod of grave emphasis.  Santoris meantime had come to my side.  Our glances met,—­he saw that I had received and understood the message of the lilies, and a light and colour came into his eyes that made them beautiful.

“Men have not yet fully enjoyed their heritage,” he said, taking up the conversation—­“Our yacht’s motive power seems complex, but in reality it is very simple,—­and the same force which propels this light vessel would propel the biggest liner afloat.  Nature has given us all the materials for every kind of work and progress, physical and mental—­but because we do not at once comprehend them we deny their uses.  Nothing in the air, earth or water exists which we may not press into our service,—­and it is in the study of natural forces that we find our conquest.  What hundreds of years it took us to discover the wonders of steam!—­how the discoverer was mocked and laughed at!—­yet it was not really ’wonderful’—­it was always there, waiting to be employed, and wasted by mere lack of human effort.  One can say the same of electricity, sometimes called ’miraculous’—­it is no miracle, but perfectly common and natural, only we have, until now, failed to apply it to our needs,—­and even when wider disclosures of science are being made to us every day, we still bar knowledge by obstinacy, and remain in ignorance rather than learn.  A few grains in weight of hydrogen have power enough to raise a million tons to a height of more than three hundred feet,—­and if we could only find a way to liberate economically and with discretion the various forces which Spirit and Matter contain, we might change the whole occupation of man and make of him less a labourer than thinker, less mortal than angel!  The wildest fairy-tales might come true, and earth be transformed into a paradise!  And as for motive power, in a thimbleful of concentrated fuel we might take the largest ship across the widest ocean.  I say if we could only find a way!  Some think they are finding it—­”

“You, for example?”—­suggested Mr. Harland.

He laughed.

“I—­if you like!—­for example!  Will you come to luncheon?”

He led the way, and Mr. Harland and I followed.  Captain Derrick, who I saw was a little afraid of him, had arranged to take his luncheon with Fazio and the other officers of the crew apart.  We were waited upon by dark-skinned men attired in the picturesque costume of the East, who performed their duties with noiseless grace and swiftness.  The yacht had for some time slackened speed, and appeared to be merely floating lazily on the surface of the calm water.  We were told she could always do this and make almost imperceptible headway, provided there was no impending storm in the air.  It seemed as if we were scarcely moving, and the whole atmosphere surrounding us expressed the most delicious tranquillity.  The luncheon prepared for us was of the daintiest and most elegant description, and Mr. Harland, who on account of his ill-health seldom had any appetite, enjoyed it with a zest and heartiness I had never seen him display before.  He particularly appreciated the wine, a rich, ruby-coloured beverage which was unlike anything I had ever tasted.