A loud cough from the front of the house interrupted us. I advanced, beckoning to Phroso to follow, and wearing, I am afraid, the apologetic look usual under such circumstances. And I found Denny and the captain. ‘Are you coming down to the yacht, Charley?’ asked Denny. ’Er--in a few minutes, Denny.’ ‘Shall I wait for you?’ ‘Oh, I think I can find my way.’ Denny laughed and caught me by the hand; then he passed on to Phroso. I do not, however, know what he said to her, for at this moment the captain touched my shoulder and demanded my attention. ‘I beg your pardon,’ said he, ‘but you never told me the meaning of that word.’ ‘What word, my dear captain?’ ‘Why, the word you used of the lady’s letter--of what she had done.’ ‘Oh, you mean “jilted”?’ ‘Yes; that’s it.’ ‘It is,’ said I, after a moment’s reflection, ‘a word of very various meanings.’ ‘Ah,’ said the captain, with a comprehending nod. ‘Yes, very various. In one sense it means to make a man miserable.’ ‘Yes, I see; to make him unhappy.’ ‘And in another to make him--to make him, captain, the luckiest beggar alive.’ ‘It’s a strange word,’ observed the captain meditatively. ‘I don’t know about that,’ said I. ‘Good-night.’ CHAPTER XXII ONE MORE RUN The next morning came bright and beautiful, with a pleasant fresh breeze. It was just the day for a run in the yacht. So I thought when I mounted on deck at eight o’clock in the morning. Watkins was there, staring meditatively at the harbour and the street beyond. Perceiving me, he touched his hat and observed: ‘It’s a queer little place, my lord.’ My eyes followed the direction of Watkins’s, and I gave a slight sigh. ‘Do you think the island is going to be quiet now, Watkins?’ I asked. I do not think that he quite understood my question, for he said that the weather looked like being fine. I had not meant the weather; my sigh was paid to the ending of Neopalia’s exciting caprices; for, though the end was prosperous, I was a little sorry that we had come to the end. ‘The Lady Phroso will come on board about ten, and we’ll go for a little run,’ I said. ‘Just look after some lunch.’ ‘Everything will be ready for your lordship and her ladyship,’ said Watkins. Hitherto he had been rather doubtful about Phroso’s claim to nobility, but the news of last night planted her firmly in the status of ‘ladyship.’ ‘Has your lordship heard,’ he continued, ‘that the launch is to carry the Governor’s body to Constantinople? There she is by the gunboat.’ ‘Oh, yes, I see. They seem to be giving the gunboat a rub down, Watkins.’ ‘Not before it was necessary, my lord. A dirtier deck I never saw.’ The gunboat was evidently enjoying a thorough cleaning; the sailors, half-naked, were scouring her decks, and some of the soldiers were assisting lazily. ‘The officers have landed to explore the island, my lord. When Mouraki was alive, they were not allowed to land at all.’ ‘Mouraki’s death makes a good many differences, eh, Watkins?’