Whereupon I heard her moving off, pressing her hands against the panels for steadiness, and there struck me as having been an endearing pathos in the way she said: "such a long time!" This was, no doubt, some of Tommy's doing. He had invited friends aboard for luncheon, and was now daring one of them to play this joke. But my glance turned to the room, to its equipment and toilette articles which were large and curiously shaped, and the numbing truth crept into my brain that the stupid boatman had put me on the wrong yacht. I had known some tight places in France, but this one simply squeezed me all over. There was nothing for it, of course, but go out and explain--yet how could a chap appear at noon draped in a sheet! The situation confused me, but I decided to search the wardrobe, of my unknown host, to borrow his razor, appropriate a new toothbrush that should be found in a box somewhere, and select flannels and linens in keeping with the hour. Still balanced between confusion and panic I must have done these things because, fittingly attired though with no very good fit, I opened my door, stepped softly along the passageway, and entered the cabin. On a wide couch built in at one side a girl lay reading. Her head was toward me, but as I advanced she arose with a low cry of gladness, saying: "So you're here at last----!" then with a little gasp drew back, facing me in the most entrancing attitude of bewilderment. It was the girl who had left that ball of paper! The sea, always my friend, at this moment did a rather decent thing; it gave the yacht a firm but gentle lurch and sent us into each other's arms. Perhaps nothing else in all the world of chances could so effectively have broken the ice between us, for we were laughing as I helped her back to the couch; and, as our eyes met, again we laughed. "I didn't know," she said, "that Father brought a guest aboard last night!" "Awkward of him, wasn't it?" I stammered, sparring for time. "One is apt to be awkward in weather like this," she graciously admitted. "You don't know how profoundly aware I am of--of how terribly true that is," I stumbled along. "Is he on deck?" For, oh, if I could only get to see him five minutes alone! "No, he's unusually lazy this morning; but I've called, him, the old dear!" A chill crept up my spine--crept up, crept down, and then criss-crossed. But she must know of her mistake before we had gone so far that putting me ashore would be a serious inconvenience--for I knew he would put me ashore at the nearest point, if not, indeed, set me adrift in an open boat. Therefore I suggested: "Wouldn't it be a good idea to call him again? It's rather important!" "Oh, you think we shouldn't have gone out in a storm like this? I've been dreadfully uneasy!" "No danger at all," I declared, with affected indifference, adding: "The weather isn't half as rough as 'the old dear' will be, take my word for it!"