And hovering all about was the
gray, sordid reek of desolation, eerie, awe-inspiring.
And yet the Captain must not find her thus. Slowly she withdrew her
head. She hated to awaken him. Yet she felt she must hear his voice,
for the all-pervading loneliness was unbearable. She sat up and shook
him gently by the shoulder. It was as though she had applied an
electric shock. With a muffled exclamation he lifted himself by his
elbow, and the next instant he was on his feet.
"Miss Howland!" he exclaimed. The sound of his voice echoed hollow
along the deck, but it was the most joyous sound Virginia had ever
heard. Leaning down, he assisted her to her feet. Their eyes met, and
they gazed at each other, wondering, uncertain. Alone of all the
world, these two, in the midst of a vast, lonely domain where hidden
terrors lurk, where elements unharness their might and work their harm
unchecked, where wind and wave whisper of murderous deeds, where the
rime of dead ages is still fresh. It was all too big for minds to
encompass, for their senses to grasp.
A great sob shook the girl.
"Will--will you please go away--a moment? I think I am going to cry,"
she stammered. She turned from him hurriedly and walked toward the
rail. She tottered as though about to fall.
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