Page:Robert William Cole - The Struggle for Empire; A Story of the Year 2236 (1900).djvu/78

66 mander of the ship, Captain Mainton, standing close behind him.

'Cheer up!' he continued. 'You will soon see her again. And who knows—when we have conquered Kairet, you may find someone else whom you will love as well, or even better.'

'There is only one being in the world whom I can ever love, and she is there,' said Alec, as he pointed down to the hazy ground below.

'Ha, ha!' laughed the cheery old captain, but not unkindly. 'Eternal love, eternal vows—eternal fiddlesticks I call it. I was a boy once myself, and I know very well what that means. Well, well,' he added, as he noticed the sad look on Alec's face, 'go and have a look at the nets, and see that they are hitched up all right; it will take your mind off a bit. Be true to her, my boy—be true to her. She's worth it.'

The captain turned away and went down below to his private sanctum; but was it to