“Perhaps, sir,” said he, in his nervous, hurried manner, “perhaps you would be better able to answer my question were I first to tell you a story—­an ordinary, a very commonplace one, I fear, but with the virtue that it is short, and soon told.”

“My time is entirely my own,” said I, leaning with my shoulders against the tree behind me; “proceed with your story.”

“First, then, my name is Strickland—­John Strickland!”

Here he paused, and, though his head was bent, I saw him watching me beneath his brows.

“Well?” said I.

“I am a supercargo.”

Again he paused expectantly, but seeing I merely nodded, he continued: 

“Upon one of my voyages, our vessel was wrecked, and, so far as I know, all save myself and six others—­four seamen and two passengers—­were drowned.  The passengers I speak of were an old merchant—­and his daughter, a very beautiful girl; her name was —­Angela, sir.”

Once again he paused and again he eyed me narrowly.

“Well?” said I.

“Well, sir,” he resumed, speaking in a low, repressed voice, “we seven, after two miserable days in a drifting boat, reached an island where, that same night, the old merchant died.  Sir, the sailors were wild, rough men; the island was a desolate one from whence there was seemingly no chance of escape, it lying out of the usual track of ships, and this girl was, as I have said, very beautiful.  Under such conditions her fate would have been unspeakable degradation, and probably death; but, sir, I fought and bled for her, not once but many times, and eventually I killed one of them with my sheath-knife, and I remember, to this hour, how his blood gushed over my hands and arms, and sickened me.  After that they waited hourly to avenge his death, and get me out of their way once and for all, but I had my long knife, and they but such rude weapons as they could devise.  Day after day, and night after night, I watched for an opportunity to escape with the boat, until at last, one day while they were all three gone inland, not dreaming of any such attempt, for the sea was very dangerous and high, with the girl’s help I managed to launch the boat, and so stood out to sea.  And I remember those three sailors came running with great shouts and cries, and flung themselves down upon the beach, and crawled upon their knees, praying to be taken off along with us, and begging us not to leave them to perish.  After three days’ buffeting at the mercy of the seas, we were picked up by a brig bound for Portsmouth, and, six months later, were in England.  Sir, it is impossible for a man to have lived beside a beautiful woman day by day, to have fought for and suffered with her, not to love her also.  Thus, seeing her friendless and penniless, I wooed and won her to wife.  We came to London, and for a year our life was perfect, until, through stress of circumstances, I was forced to take another position aboard ship.  Well, sir, I bade farewell to my wife, and we set sail.  The voyage, which was to have lasted but three months, was lengthened out through one misadventure after another, so that it was a year before I saw my wife again, At first I noticed little difference in her save that she was paler, but, gradually, I came to see that she was unhappy.  Often I have wakened in the night to find her weeping silently.