A quarter of an hour later, Hugo entered the general public and reception-room, and with his foot softly pushed aside a black, bristly object, which had laid itself just before the door with admirable coolness, and now left its place grunting crossly.
"These dear little animals appear to be considered quite fit for a drawing-room here; with us they are merely so in a roasted state," said he, quietly. "I wanted to see where you were, Reinhold. My God, you are still in your wet clothes. Why have you not changed?"
Reinhold, who stood at the window and gazed out at the sea, turned and cast an abstracted look at his brother, who already, like the other gentlemen, had made use of the padrone's and his son's Sunday clothes brought hastily to them.
"Changed my clothes? Oh to be sure, I had forgotten."
"Then do it now!" urged Hugo. "Do you wish to ruin your health entirely?"
Reinhold made an impatient deprecating gesture. "Leave me alone! What a fuss about a storm of rain."
"Well, the rain storm was within a hair's breadth of being fatal to us," said Captain Almbach, "and I can bear testimony, as pilot, that my ship's crew behaved bravely, with the single exception of Donna Beatrice. She made rather extensive use of her rights as a lady, first by bringing us into danger, and then increasing its difficulties tenfold."
"For which you have the triumph that she owes her life to you, as do we all," suggested Reinhold, indifferently.
Hugo looked sharply at his brother. "Which in your case you seem to value very slightly."
"I, why?"