Next day, at luncheon, the chair was still vacant. Elsa became alarmed. Perhaps he was ill. She made inquiries, regardless of the possible misinterpretation her concern might be given by others. Mr. Warrington had had his meals served in his cabin, but the steward declared that the gentleman was not ill, only tired and irritable, and that he amused himself with a trained parrakeet. All day long the sea lay waveless and unrippled, a sea of brass and lapis-lazuli; brass where the sun struck and lapis-lazuli in the shadow of the lazy swells. Schools of flying-fish broke fan-wise in flashes of silver, and porpoise sported alongside. And warmer and warmer grew the air. Starboard was rigged up for cricket, and the ship's officers and some of the passengers played the game until the first gong. Elsa grumbled to Martha. There was little enough space to walk in as it was without the men taking over the whole side of the ship and cheating her out of a glorious sunset. Martha grew troubled and perplexed. If there was one phase of character unknown to her in Elsa it was irritability; and here she was, finding fault like any ordinary tourist. "Where is Mr. Warrington?" "I don't know. I haven't seen him since yesterday." Elsa dropped her book petulantly. "I am weary of these namby-pamby stories." "Why, I thought you admired that author." "Not to-day at any rate. Silly twaddle." Martha's eyes had a hopeless look in them as she asked: "Elsa, what is the matter?" "I don't know, Martha. I believe I should like to lose my temper utterly. It might be a great relief." "It's the climate." "It may be. But it's my belief I'm irritable because I do not know my own mind. I hate the stuffy stateroom, the food, the captain." "The captain?" "Yes. Nothing seems to disturb his conceit. To-night we sleep on deck, the starboard side. At five o'clock we have to get up and go inside again so they can holystone the deck. And I am always soundest asleep at that time. Doubtless, I shall be irritable all day to-morrow." "Sleep up here on deck?" horrified. "That, or suffocate below." "But the men?" "They sleep on the port side." Elsa laughed maliciously. "Don't worry. Nobody minds." "I hate the East," declared Martha vindictively. "Everything is so slack. It just brings out the shiftlessness in everybody." "Perhaps that is what ails me; I am growing shiftless. When I came on board I decided to marry Arthur, and have done with the pother. Now I am at the same place as when I left home. I don't want to marry anybody. Have you noticed that fellow Craig?" "What will you do if he speaks?" "I have half a dozen good hat-pins left," dryly. "I hate to hear you talk like that."