Page:Between Two Loves.djvu/268

Rh boundless possibility. Very little else was known about it, even by Jonathan. But Steve was charmed. There was the voyage, and then the vast unknown beyond the voyage; surely, at least, there were limitless opportunities for something good to turn up. He was gay with hope and full of promises, and Sarah believed in them, although the thoughtless candidate for fortune had not one definite plan as to how he was to redeem them.

He intended going to Canada, but he made some mistake in Liverpool, and bought a ticket for New York. But how often some wiser power takes in hand at last the life we have rough-hewn on every side, and shapes it to its proper end. Half-way across the Atlantic the key to Steve Benson's character was found. Either because a sailing vessel was more economical, or because he wanted to prolong the voyage, Steve had selected a ship of a famous merchant line. For eight days they were driven before a series of storms, and when all hope appeared to be over, and the crew refused any longer to obey orders, Steve went naturally to his right place.

He was the captain's main reliance. Things