"Yes; he is with us, a cabin passenger," replied Mr. Basset.
"Here! here! on board the Hermione?" continued Morley, almost vacantly, for his brain spun round.
"Yes, sir, in your place," said the captain.
"Great Heavens!"
"Your passage was taken out, your berth ready, the money paid; but you had slipped from your moorings somehow, so he went in your place. There is nothing very wonderful in that, is there?"
"He went with Ethel?" said Morley, in a tremulous and imploring voice to Mr. Basset.
"He came with me, as the son of my old friend, Tom Hawkshaw, of Lincoln's Inn, to push his fortune in the Mauritius," said Mr. Basset, hastily.
"And Ethel—Ethel?" continued Morley, in a broken voice, while his eyes filled with tears.
"Is well, though she has mourned for you deeply," replied Mr. Basset. "But pray be calm, my poor boy. How terribly agitated you are! Do not doubt her, or misunderstand me."
"And I shall see her—see her again?"