She came to
the conclusion that the matter could be related jocularly, or--why not
pretend fear? At that moment the brig's yard-arm light she was looking
at trembled distinctly, and she was dumfounded as if she had seen a
commotion in the firmament. With her lips open for a cry she saw it fall
straight down several feet, flicker, and go out. All perplexity passed
from her mind. This first fact of the danger gave her a thrill of quite
a new emotion. Something had to be done at once. For some remote reason
she felt ashamed of her hesitations.
She moved swiftly forward and under the lamp came face to face with
Carter who was coming aft. Both stopped, staring, the light fell on
their faces, and both were struck by each other's expression. The four
eyes shone wide.
"You have seen?" she asked, beginning to tremble.
"How do you know?" he said, at the same time, evidently surprised.
Suddenly she saw that everybody was on deck.
"The light is down," she stammered.
"The gentlemen are lost," said Carter. Then he perceived she did not
seem to understand. "Kidnapped off the sandbank," he continued, looking
at her fixedly to see how she would take it. She seemed calm. "Kidnapped
like a pair of lambs! Not a squeak," he burst out with indignation. "But
the sandbank is long and they might have been at the other end.
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