He shouted, with the inimitable accent of Tyneside:
"Yo' wanted, Docto' Chwistobal. The captain thinks Mr. Boyle is
bettaw."
"May I come, too?" asked Elsie.
"No, missie. You bide he-aw."
"Please tell me before you go--is the ship full of water?"
"She's dwy as a bone," said Walker. A sea splashed over him and sent a
shower into the cabin. "A vewy wet bone," he added, with a broad grin,
for the Northumbrian had a ready wit though he had such a solemn jowl,
and he could not pronounce an "r" to save his life.
"Between you and the captain, I am beginning to be infected by belief,"
said Christobal to Elsie. "Let me recommend you to close the door
behind us."
And she was left with the dog for company once more. A chronometer
showed that the hour was past midnight. She knew sufficient of the sea
to understand that the clock was probably accurate, as the course had
practically followed the same meridian since the _Kansas_ quitted
Valparaiso. So the ship and those left on board had entered on another
day! How little she had thought that to be possible when the awful
knowledge first came to her that the _Kansas_ was ashore! How long ago
was that? Then she remembered that when Courtenay placed her in his
cabin with the promise to bring Isobel to her, she had noticed the
time--eleven o'clock.
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