“Nothing, I thank you. Are you going to bed now?”
“I was meaning to go down again to the men, but now I think of it, I do not like to leave you alone with Nero, as he might bite you. Are you afraid of him?”
“No, I’m not much afraid, but still I have no wish to be bitten, and I am not used to sleep with such animals, as you are.”
“Well then, I’ll tell you how we’ll manage it. I will take some skins outside, and sleep there. Nero will not leave me, and then you won’t be afraid. The weather is clearing up fast, and there’s very little wind to what there was besides, it will be daylight in three or four hours.”
“As you please,” was the reply.
Accordingly, I took some seal-skins out on the platform, and spreading them, I lay down upon them, wishing her good night, and Nero soon joined me, and we were both fast asleep in a few minutes.
Chapter Twenty.
Nero, who was an early riser, woke me up at daybreak, or I should have slept much longer; for I had been tired out with the fatigue and excitement of the night before. As soon as I was up, I looked into the cabin, and found the woman was fast asleep; her straw hat was off, but she had lain down in her clothes. Her black hair was hanging about her shoulders. Having only seen Jackson with his bushy beard, I had been somewhat surprised when I first saw the men on their landing so comparatively clear of hair on their face; my astonishment at the clear white skin of a woman—and in this instance, it was peculiarly white and pallid—was very great. I also perceived how much more delicate her features were than those of the men; her teeth, too, were very white, and Jackson’s were discoloured and bad; I longed to see her eyes, but they were closed. Any other difference I could not perceive, as she had drawn the blanket close up to her chin.