Adrift on the Pacific
CHAPTER I
CAPTAIN STRATHMORE’S PASSENGER
A few hours before the sailing of the steamer Polynesia, from San Francisco to Japan, and while Captain Strathmore stood on deck watching the bustle and hurry, he was approached by a nervous, well-dressed gentleman, who was leading a little girl by the hand.
“I wish you to take a passenger to Tokio for me, Captain Strathmore,” said the stranger.
The honest, bluff old captain, although tender of the feelings of others, never forgot the dignity and respect due to his position, and, looking sternly at the stranger, said:
“You should know, sir, that it is the purser and not the captain whom you should see.”
“I have seen him, and cannot make a satisfactory arrangement.”