One of the Turks had several women under his care, and among the number was a young girl whose father and mother were dead. She did not want to leave her home in Constantinople, but the man who had her in charge took her regardless of her wishes. This man was an uncle to the girl, and therefore had a right to do as he pleased; but it so happened that she never reached Damascus, the place aimed for. There was great confusion among the Turkish women one night, and everybody on board the Vesta was aroused from slumber. Overhead there was an unusual amount of walking and talking, and above all could be heard the stern voice of the captain. We were very sure something had gone wrong, for the confusion lasted several hours and the captain seemed to have great trouble in quieting the people. After a while they settled down and we fell asleep. The next morning we learned that the young girl had disappeared during the night. All search seemed in vain, and after finding her clothing upon deck they concluded she had jumped overboard. Surely her Damascus trip was ended, and sad indeed must have been the heart of the poor, motherless girl who found a resting place in the Mediterranean Sea. That event brought sadness to our hearts, and yet we had a strong desire to know more of the life of the poor Turkish maiden; but there was no need of dwelling longer on this subject, and therefore we cast it aside for more cheerful thoughts. [Illustration: _Woman with Veiled Face._] The weather was fine almost all of the trip, and much time was spent on deck watching the waves chase each other as we dashed along. Watching waves seemed like a trivial thing to do, but when passengers must depend upon themselves for amusement they are often intensely interested by the very smallest thing, especially when nothing is seen but sky and water for miles and miles and miles. There are few secure harbors along the Mediterranean. Vessels always cast anchor out from shore from half a mile to a mile, and passengers as well as cargo must be taken ashore in small boats. If the sea should be boisterous the vessels are compelled to lie by until a calm; then discharge the cargo. That seemed to be our fate at Beyrut, for on reaching the port there was a stiff breeze which resembled a gale; and instead of stopping only a few hours we remained until the day following. The heavy sea twisted the Vesta and caused her to drag the anchor a little. We did not enjoy that part of it, for a restless, uneasy feeling in our stomach made us think of seasickness, which came very near following. Some passengers went ashore at Beyrut because it was the end of their journey, and others went for a change of scene. As we were not of the venturesome kind we decided to remain where we were until the next stopping place was reached, and that would be Jaffa.