Itwouldhavesaid，“Iamhere——stillhere“……andwhatmorecantheeyeofthemostforsakenofhumanbeingssay？Butsheturnedherbackonthemasifindisdainoftheirfate：shehadswunground，burdened，toglarestubbornlyatthenewdangeroftheopenseawhichshesostrangelysurvivedtoendherdaysinabreaking-upyard，asifithadbeenherrecordedfatetodieobscurelyundertheblowsofmanyhammers。WhatwerethevariousendstheirdestinyprovidedforthepilgrimsIamunabletosay；buttheimmediatefuturebrought，ataboutnineo’clocknextmorning，aFrenchgunboathomewardboundfromReunion。Thereportofhercommanderwaspublicproperty。Hehadsweptalittleoutofhiscoursetoascertainwhatwasthematterwiththatsteamerfloatingdangerouslybytheheaduponastillandhazysea。Therewasanensign，uniondown，flyingathermaingafftheseranghadthesensetomakeasignalofdistressatdaylight；butthecookswerepreparingthefoodinthecooking-boxesforwardasusual。
Thedeckswerepackedascloseasasheep-pen：therewerepeopleperchedallalongtherails，jammedonthebridgeinasolidmass；hundredsofeyesstared，andnotasoundwasheardwhenthegunboatrangedabreast，asifallthatmultitudeoflipshadbeensealedbyaspell。
`TheFrenchmanhailed，couldgetnointelligiblereply，andafterascertainingthroughhisbinocularsthatthecrowdondeckdidnotlookplague-stricken，decidedtosendaboat。Twoofficerscameaboard，listenedtotheserang，triedtotalkwiththeArab，couldn’tmakeheadortailofit：butofcoursethenatureoftheemergencywasobviousenough。Theywerealsoverymuchstruckbydiscoveringawhitemandeadandcurleduppeacefullyonthebridge。“Fortintriguesparcecadavre，“asIwasinformedalongtimeafterbyanelderlyFrenchlieutenantwhomIcameacrossoneafternooninSydney，bythemerestchance，inasortofcafe，andwhorememberedtheaffairperfectly。Indeedthisaffair，Imaynoticeinpassing，hadanextraordinarypowerofdefyingtheshortnessofmemoriesandthelengthoftime：itseemedtolive，withasortofuncannyvitality，inthemindsofmen，onthetipsoftheirtongues。I’vehadthequestionablepleasureofmeetingitoften，yearsafterwards，thousandsofmilesaway，emergingfromtheremotestpossibletalk，comingtothesurfaceofthemostdistantallusions。Hasitnotturnedupto-nightbetweenus？AndIamtheonlyseamanhere。Iamtheonlyonetowhomitisamemory。Andyetithasmadeitswayout!Butiftwomenwho，unknowntoeachother，knewofthisaffairmetaccidentallyonanyspotofthisearth，thethingwouldpopupbetweenthemassureasfate，beforetheyparted。IhadneverseenthatFrenchmanbefore，andattheendofanhourwehaddonewitheachotherforlife：
hedidnotseemparticularlytalkativeeither；hewasaquiet，massivechapinacreaseduniformsittingdrowsilyoveratumblerhalffullofsomedarkliquid。Hisshoulder-strapswereabittarnished，hisclean-shavedcheekswerelargeandsallow；helookedlikeamanwhowouldbegiventotakingsnuff——don’tyouknow？Iwon’tsayhedid；butthehabitwouldhavefittedthatkindofman。ItallbeganbyhishandingmeanumberofHomeNews，whichIdidn’twant，acrossthemarbletable。Isaid，“Merci。“
Weexchangedafewapparentlyinnocentremarks，andsuddenly，beforeI