"Perhaps," she said, with a touch of wistfulness, "when you see my fiancé you will change your mind."
He turned from her with obvious impatience.
"Perhaps you will change yours," he said.
And with that surly rejoinder of his the conversation ended. The next moment he moved abruptly away, leaving her in possession.
III
It was early morning when they came at last into port. When Sybil appeared on deck she found it crowded with excited men, and the hubbub was deafening. A multitude of small boats buzzed to and fro on the tumbling waters below them, and she expected every instant to see one swamped as the great ship floated majestically through the throng.
She had anticipated a crowd of people on the wharf to witness their arrival, but the knot of men gathered there scarcely numbered a score. She scanned them eagerly, but it took only a very few seconds to convince her that Robin Wentworth was not among them. And there had been no letter from him at Colombo.
"They don't allow many people on the wharf," said Mercer's voice behind her. "There will be more on the other side of the Customs house."