\"Turnthehandsup，\"Icriedthroughthedoor。\"I’llbeondeckdirectly。\"
Iwasgoingouttomaketheacquaintanceofmyship。BeforeIleftthecabinoureyesmet—theeyesoftheonlytwostrangersonboard。Ipointedtotherecessedpartwherethelittlecamp—stoolawaitedhimandlaidmyfingeronmylips。Hemadeagesture—
somewhatvague—alittlemysterious，accompaniedbyafaintsmile，asifofregret。
Thisisnottheplacetoenlargeuponthesensationsofamanwhofeelsforthefirsttimeashipmoveunderhisfeettohisownindependentword。Inmycasetheywerenotunalloyed。Iwasnotwhollyalonewithmycommand；fortherewasthatstrangerinmycabin。Orrather，Iwasnotcompletelyandwhollywithher。Partofmewasabsent。Thatmentalfeelingofbeingintwoplacesatonceaffectedmephysicallyasifthemoodofsecrecyhadpenetratedmyverysoul。Beforeanhourhadelapsedsincetheshiphadbeguntomove，havingoccasiontoaskthemate（hestoodbymyside）totakeacompassbearingofthePagoda，Icaughtmyselfreachinguptohisearinwhispers。IsayIcaughtmyself，butenoughhadescapedtostartletheman。Ican’tdescribeitotherwisethanbysayingthatheshied。Agrave，preoccupiedmanner，asthoughhewereinpossessionofsomeperplexingintelligence，didnotleavehimhenceforth。AlittlelaterImovedawayfromtherailtolookatthecompasswithsuchastealthygaitthatthehelmsmannoticedit—andIcouldnothelpnoticingtheunusualroundnessofhiseyes。Thesearetriflinginstances，thoughit’stonocommander’sadvantagetobesuspectedofludicrouseccentricities。ButIwasalsomoreseriouslyaffected。
Therearetoaseamancertainwords，gestures，thatshouldingivenconditionscomeasnaturally，asinstinctivelyasthewinkingofamenacedeye。Acertainordershouldspringontohislipswithoutthinking；acertainsignshouldgetitselfmade，sotospeak，withoutreflection。Butallunconsciousalertnesshadabandonedme。Ihadtomakeaneffortofwilltorecallmyselfback（fromthecabin）totheconditionsofthemoment。IfeltthatIwasappearinganirresolutecommandertothosepeoplewhowerewatchingmemoreorlesscritically。