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 better go at once to Captain Widgins, who had seemed so friendly to him, and confide to him his peculiar story and suspicions. But then had he not best know more of the riddle before he did? The only way to do that was to turn the state-room into a hiding-place and a castle for Gerald; and as to himself, to walk out boldly and bring events to an issue. He had courage enough for that.

"I'll get you the ice-water at once," he exclaimed, starting up, "and I'll see what sort of a night it is by this time. Then I wont have to leave you alone again."

"All right," returned Gerald, yawning. "I'm half in a doze now; I dare say I'll be asleep before you get back, but I'd rather not go to bed quite yet. It can't have cleared much. That fog-whistle is going as hard as it can."

Philip locked the state-room door as he stepped out—a precaution Gerald was too drowsy to mark. He re-entered the main saloon and walked with deliberate slowness about it, while he waited for the ice-water. There seemed to be no signs of the enemy. It was a rather vacant quarter where he found