But with the knowledge that this woman had simply passed and let her shadow fall upon me I had no heart for Sheering’s impassioned words. I got up and followed her. I found her on deck, far forward, leaning on the rail and watching a fiery, angry sunset that inflamed all the western horizon. As she looked round and saw me advancing along the deck I detected in her telltale eyes the first scared impulse to run away. But what was she afraid of? It was the question I asked as soon as I was near enough to speak. “What makes you think I’m afraid of anything?” “The way you looked. You see, this queer sort of veil doesn’t protect you; it gives you away by throwing all your expression into your eyes. There’s an essence that eludes one till it’s concentrated and distilled.” “I’m sure I didn’t mean—” “To look like an animal trying to escape? Well, you did.” “Oh, as to that, I could easily have walked round the deck-house to the other side of the ship.” “If the discourtesy wouldn’t have been too obvious—of course!” But I didn’t press the point. There were other admissions to which I had an unchivalrous craving to bring her if I could; and so I went on, artfully, “It was clever of you to find my state-room on Tuesday—all on the spur of the moment like that.” She contented herself with murmuring, “Yes, wasn’t it?” “And your own cabin is on another deck.” “I’m on this deck.” “So that you hadn’t even seen me going in and out.” “I’m a nurse—in a way. Nurses have to know more than other passengers or they’d be no good on board ship.” “And do you know every one’s cabin?” “I know every one’s cabin to whom I can be useful.” “Is that many?” “No; not many, unfortunately.” She diverted the attack by saying, “What are you asking for?” “Oh, for nothing,” I answered, carelessly. I added, however, with some slight show of intention, “I’ve called it your cleverness, but I really mean it as your kindness.” She decided to take the bull by the horns, shifting her position and standing with her back to the rail. “If you call it kindness that I should have learned the number and location of your cabin before we left Liverpool—” “Oh, you did it then?” “Yes, I did it then. But if you call it kindness, of course I can’t prevent you. I can only assure you it isn’t. I knew you couldn’t get about easily—” “How did you know that?” “I saw you come on board. Wasn’t that enough?” “Then let me go farther back and ask how you happened to see me come on board. Wasn’t it an extraordinary coincidence that you should have been there, right at the head of the gangway?” “Well, life is full of extraordinary coincidences, isn’t it? And when a woman who can do so little sees a wounded man—” There were other wounded men scattered about the deck. I glanced at them as I said, “And have you done that for all the wounded men on board?” “I’ve done it for all I know.” “And how many do you know?” She averted her profile, with an air of having had enough of the subject.