With twinkling lights on shore, a balmy breeze fanning their cheeks, and the odor of flowers wafted over the water, it was very romantic to stand upon the deck of the yacht, anchored in still waters, after having passed so many days upon the heaving deep. Nor was there any lack of sound. Men's voices floated over the water, laughter was heard from parties of pleasure seekers in small boats, and from various quarters came the sound of music. Sweet indeed do the notes of mandolin or guitar sound when mellowed by the water--there is a peculiar richness and sympathy to the strumming of the taut strings that cannot be produced under other conditions. Besides, the poetry of the thing appeals to what is romantic in the heart. Lovers delight to glide upon the moonlit water. No wonder then that Venice with her canals and gondolas should be classed as a veritable Paradise for such devoted people. Roderic smoked his last cigar strong in the hope of replenishing his stock on the morrow. A band situated upon some open plaza discoursed military music, and at that distance even carping critics found little fault. The evening was gliding away. It passed with leaden wings to Roderic, whose ardent spirit longed for the first streak of dawn, in the anticipation of being able to discover whether or not the vessel that bore Georgia was in the harbor. There was something almost unendurable in the suspense, and it required considerable determination to crush down the spirit that demanded some immediate action on his part. He had been compelled to go back to the comforts of his more plebeian pipe, nor did its solace fail to soothe his troubled spirit. Thus time slipped away. Four bells had struck. Ere long they would be thinking of seeking their berths, and for one Roderic confessed that the summons would not come amiss. He yawned several times as though he had not yet been able to make up the sleep lost while they were in the grasp of the storm, when all hands found it impossible to remain in their bunks. Truth to tell he was thinking that sleep would bridge over the time until dawn, and cause him to forget his anxieties. The lights still glimmered, nor had the sounds of music and revelry abated one particle. Night to the average Spanish mind means a period for chasing dull care away in music, the dance and carousal. While Roderic sat thus, his thoughts flitting from one subject to another, since no one had spoken for quite some time, a figure approached which he recognized upon glancing up as belonging to Captain Beven. As the mariner stooped over him he electrified Owen with the few words he softly uttered. "Sir, I have reason to believe the steamer Sterling Castle lies at anchor just off our port quarter!" CHAPTER XI. THE LADY ON THE QUARTER DECK.