“Well, then, you must go and fetch your luggage here at once. It would be strange indeed if you were to be staying at any house but mine while you are in London.” As he saw that the planter would not hear of a refusal, Will gladly accepted the invitation, and, taking a fly, drove to the hotel, paid his bill, and took his things away. CHAPTER XVII ON BOARD THE “JASON” “I won’t ask you for your story till after dinner,” Mr. Palethorpe said. “To enjoy a yarn one needs to be comfortable, and I feel more at home in my arm-chair in the dining-room than I do in this room, with all its fal-lals. You see, I have taken the house furnished. When I settle down in a home of my own, I can assure you it will look very different from this. In fact I have one already building for me. It is at Dulwich, and will be as nearly as possible like my house in Jamaica. Of course there will be differences. I at first wished to have the same sort of veranda, but the architect pointed out that while in Jamaica one requires shade, here one wants light. So they are getting large sheets of glass specially made for putting in instead of wood above the windows. Then, of course, we want good fireplaces, whereas in Jamaica a fire is only necessary for a few days in the year. There are also other little differences, but on the whole it will remind me of the place I had for so many years.” “The house will have one advantage over that in Jamaica, Mr. Palethorpe.” “What is that?” he asked. “You will be able to go to bed comfortably without fear of having the roof taken from over your head by a hurricane.” “Ah! that is indeed a matter to which I have not given sufficient consideration, but it is certainly a very substantial advantage, as we have all good reason to know.” “I never think of it without shuddering,” Alice said. “It was awful! It seemed as if there was an end of everything! I think it was the memory of that night that first set me thinking of going to England.” “Then I cannot but feel grateful to that hurricane, for if you had remained out there it is probable that I should never have met you again.” “I am having a large conservatory built so that we can have greenness and flowers all the year,” Mr. Palethorpe remarked presently. “I should think that would be charming. I hope you will be settled at Dulwich long before I come back from my next cruise.” “Well, I don’t know that I can say the same, Will. I hope your next cruise will be a short one.” When dinner was over, the chairs were drawn up to the fire, and Will related his adventures since his return from the West Indies. “Have you heard of your two favourite sailors?” Alice interrupted. “Dimchurch and Tom Stevens? No, I have not. I shall feel lost without them at sea, and sincerely hope that I may some day run against them, in which case I am sure, if they are free, they will join my ship.”