“Dam puppy!” said the doctor. Then the plate and fruit were laid before Mr. Glaston, who said quickly, “Take them away.” The bewildered waiter looked towards his chief and obeyed, so that Mr. Glaston remained with an empty plate. Robinson became uneasy. “Can I get you anything, sir?--we have three peaches aboard and a pine-apple,” he murmured. “Can't touch anything now, Robinson,” Mr. Glaston answered. “The doctor is right,” said Mrs. Crawford. “You have no appetite, Mr. Glaston.” “No,” he replied; “not _now_,” and he gave the least glance towards the girl in pink, who began to feel that all her school dreams of going forth into the world of men to conquer and overcome were being realised beyond her wildest anticipations. Then there was a pause at the table, which the good major broke by suddenly inquiring something of the captain. Mr. Glaston, however, sat silent, and somewhat sad apparently, until the breakfast was over. Daireen went into her cabin for a book, and remained arranging some volumes on the little shelf for a few minutes. Mr. Glaston was on deck when she ascended, and he was engaged in a very serious conversation with Mrs. Crawford. “Something must be done. Surely she has a guardian aboard who is not so utterly lost to everything of truth and right as to allow that to go on unchecked.” These words Daireen could make out as she passed the young man and the major's wife, and the girl began to fear that something terrible was about to happen. But Mr. Harwood, who was standing above the major's chair, hastened forward as she appeared. “Why, Major Crawford has been telling me that your father is Colonel Gerald,” he said. “Mrs. Crawford never mentioned that fact, thinking that I should be able to guess it for myself.” “Did you know papa?” Daireen asked. “I met him several times when I was out about the Baroda affair,” said the “special.” “And as you are his daughter, I suppose it will interest you to know that he has been selected as the first governor of the Castaways.” Daireen looked puzzled. “The Castaways?” she said. “Yes, Miss Gerald; the lovely Castaway Islands which, you know, have just been annexed by England. Colonel Gerald has been chosen by the Colonial Secretary as the first governor.” “But I heard nothing of this,” said Daireen, a little astonished to receive such information in the Bay of Biscay. “How could you hear anything of it? No one outside the Cabinet has the least idea of it.” “And you----” said the girl doubtfully. “Ah, my dear Miss Gerald, the resources of information possessed by the _Dominant Trumpeter_ are as unlimited as they are trustworthy. You may depend upon what I tell you. It is not generally known that I am now bound for the Castaway group, to make the British public aware of the extent of the treasure they have acquired in these sunny isles. But I understood that Colonel Gerald was on his way from Madras?”