provethatI’malivethecasemustgoononaccountofmyheir，whetherIchoosetocryquitsornot。Andit’sjustTHATthatholdsmyhand。“
Randolphstaredattheextraordinarymanbeforehim。Foramoment，asthestrangestoryofhismiraculousescapeandhisstillmorewonderfulindifferencetoitallrecurredtohismind，hefeltadoubtofthenarrator’struthfulnessorhissanity。Butanotherglanceatthesailor’sfrankeyesdispelledthatmomentarysuspicion。Heheldouthishandasfrankly，andgraspingCaptainDornton’s，said，“Iwillgo。“
V
Randolph’srequestforafourmonths’leaveofabsencewasgrantedwithlittleobjectionandnocuriosity。Hehadacquiredtheconfidenceofhisemployers，andbeyondMr。Revelstoke’scurtsurprisethatayoungfellowontheroadtofortuneshouldsacrificesomuchtimetoirrelevanttravel，andtheremark，“Butyouknowyourownbusinessbest，“therewasnocomment。Itstrucktheyoungman，however，thatMr。Dingwall’sslightcoolnessonreceivingthenewsmightbeattributedtoasuspicionthathewasfollowingMissAvondale，whomhehadfanciedDingwalldisliked，andhequicklymadecertaininquiriesinregardtoMissEversleighandthepossibilityofhismeetingher。As，withoutintendingit，andtohisownsurprise，heachievedablushinsodoing，whichDingwallnoted，hereceivedagraciousreply，andthesuggestionthatitwas“quiteproper“forhim，onarriving，tosendtheyoungladyhiscard。
CaptainDornton，underthealiasof“CaptainJohns，“wasreadytocatchthenextsteamertotheIsthmus，andintwodaystheysailed。