“Isn’t there any other place vacant? At one of the smaller tables, for instance? I don’t like to sit at the long table,” said Morris, placing his finger and thumb significantly in his waistcoat pocket. “I think that can be arranged, sir,” answered the steward, with a smile. “Is there a place vacant at the table where that young lady is sitting alone?” said Morris, nodding in the direction. “Well, sir, all the places are taken there; but the gentleman who has been placed at the head of the table has not come down, sir, and if you like I will change his card for yours at the long table.” “I wish you would.” So with that he took his place at the head of the small table, and had the indignant young lady at his right hand. “There ought to be a master of ceremonies,” began Morris with some hesitation, “to introduce people to each other on board a steamship. As it is, however, people have to get acquainted as best they may. My name is Morris, and, unless I am mistaken, you are Miss Katherine Earle. Am I right?” “You are right about my name,” answered the young lady, “I presume you ought to be about your own.” “Oh, I can prove that,” said Morris, with a smile. “I have letters to show, and cards and things like that.” Then he seemed to catch his breath as he remembered there was also a young woman on board who could vouch that his name was George Morris This took him aback for a moment, and he was silent. Miss Earle made no reply to his offer of identification. “Miss Earle,” he said hesitatingly at last, “I wish you would permit me to apologise to you if I am as culpable as I imagine. _Did_ I run against your chair and break it?” “Do you mean to say,” replied the young lady, looking at him steadily, “that you do not _know_ whether you did or not?” “Well, it’s a pretty hard thing to ask a person to believe, and yet I assure you that is the fact. I have only the dimmest remembrance of the disaster, as of something I might have done in a dream. To tell you the truth, I did not even suspect I had done so until I noticed I had torn a portion of my clothing by the collision. After you left, it just dawned upon me that I was the one who smashed the chair. I therefore desire to apologise very humbly, and hope you will permit me to do so.” “For what do you intend to apologise, Mr. Morris? For breaking the chair, or refusing to mend it when I asked you?” “For both. I was really in a good deal of trouble just the moment before I ran against your chair, Miss Earle, and I hope you will excuse me on the ground of temporary insanity. Why, you know, they even let off murderers on that plea, so I hope to be forgiven for being careless in the first place, and boorish in the second.” “You are freely forgiven, Mr. Morris. In fact, now that I think more calmly about the incident, it was really a very trivial affair to get angry over, and I must confess I was angry.” “You were perfectly justified.”