"No, I don't. And I'm not the kind of man who pretends that he takes holidays because he finds them necessary for his health. I take them simply because I enjoy them." "We might," said the Major, "have a day in the _Spindrift_." "I said a half-holiday," said Meldon. "In the afternoon I must go in and explain to Simpkins that you don't really mean anything by your rather pronounced attentions to Miss King." The Major sighed. He had no doubt that Meldon would do exactly as he said, and he foresaw fresh complications of a most embarrassing kind. Still, a half-holiday was something to be thankful for. "We might," he said, "have a sail in the morning and come back for lunch." "No," said Meldon, "we can't do that. There's not a breath of wind. But, without actual sailing, we might spend a pleasant and restful morning on board the yacht." "Do you mean simply to sit on deck while she's at anchor?" "I rather contemplated lying down," said Meldon, "with my head on a life-buoy." "I don't think I'd care for that. It strikes me as rather waste of time." "It would be for you, Major, and I don't advise you to do it. My time won't be wasted, for I shall use it profitably. I shall take a quantity of tobacco and a tin of biscuits. You can let me have some biscuits, I suppose?" "Certainly. And you'll find a bottle of beer on board, which Simpkins couldn't drink at luncheon the other day, but I must say that, if that's your idea of a profitable use of your time--" "It isn't. The tobacco and the biscuits are mere accessories. What I really mean to devote my morning to is meditation. One of the greatest mistakes we make nowadays is not giving sufficient time to quiet thought. We go hustling along through life doing things which ought not to be done in a hurry, and when physical exhaustion forces us to pause for a moment, we run our eyes over printed matter of some kind--newspapers, magazines, or books--and never give a single hour from one year's end to another to meditation." "What do you intend to meditate about, J. J.? That German philosopher of yours, I suppose." "I haven't settled that yet," said Meldon. "If there's any affair of yours, either practical, or an intellectual difficulty, which you want to have carefully thought out, now is your time. I'll devote myself to it with pleasure." "Thanks," said the Major, "but there isn't." "Are you quite sure? A chance like this doesn't occur every day." "Quite sure; thanks."