If the captain had been Mr. Gates he would probably have felled Allerton to the deck a second time. As it was, he shuffled his feet uncomfortably and glared. The broken man before him, when all was said and done, was his superior; and the captain, who was of sufficiently refined clay to be sensitive to social distinctions, was angrily conscious of that sense of sheepish uneasiness which obsesses the cad, however exalted, in the presence of a gentleman, however degraded. Allerton continued:-- "I remember now, captain. The man was lying in the alley-way leading to the companion. I'll go and see how he is getting on. Keep your seats, gentlemen." He dived down the fore-hatchway, just in time to escape the itching boot of the unimpressionable Mr. Gates, and proceeded between decks toward the stern. Presently he came to the alley-way in question. The man was still there, but had slightly shifted his position since Allerton had last seen him. He was now reclining across the passage, with his head sunk on his chest. His feet were bare, and he was attired in a blue jumper and a pair of trousers which had once belonged to a suit of orange-and-red pyjamas. His appearance was not impressive. Allerton stirred him gently with his foot. "Wake up, old man," he remarked, "or there'll be hell--Well, I'm damned!" For the man had drowsily lifted his heavy head and displayed the features of Hughie Marrable. They gazed at each other for a full minute. Then Allerton said feebly:-- "You've preferred the Orinoco to the Apulia after all, then?" Hughie did not reply. He was running his tongue round his cracked and blackened lips, and tentatively sucking his palate. "I know that taste," he remarked. "It reminds me of a night I once spent in Canton. I have it--opium!" Then he tenderly fingered the back of his head, and nodded with the interested air of one who is acquiring a new item of experience. "I've been filled up with opium before," he said, "but this is the first time I've been sand-bagged. I suppose I was sand-bagged first and hocussed afterwards. Yes, that's it." He looked almost pleased. He was a man who liked to get to the bottom of things. Presently he continued:-- "Could you get me a drink of water? I've got a tongue like a stick of glue." Allerton departed as bidden, presently to return with a pannikin. Hughie was standing up in the alley-way, swaying unsteadily and regarding his attire. "I say," he said, after gulping the water, "would you mind telling me--you see, I'm a little bit wuzzy in the head at present--where the devil I am, and whether I came on board in this kit or my own clothes?" "Steamship Orinoco," replied Allerton precisely, "out of New York, for Bordeaux." "Let me think," said Hughie,--"Orinoco? Ah! now I'm beginning to see daylight. What's the name of the owner, our friend from Coney Island?" Allerton told him. "But he's more than your friend now," he added; "he's your employer." Hughie whistled long and low.