"I shall keep up the fiction till to-morrow," he said; "then I shall have to invent something else, for this one will not serve my purpose any longer. But only Heaven knows how I am going to get out of this trouble. Tell him that his bride is drowned I cannot, dare not, for he would either die or go mad from the shock in his present weak condition. Well, I will go and have a good-night look at him and turn in and sleep on it."
"Think I'll go to bed, too," said the captain.
But he lingered a moment with his weed, silently drinking in the beauty of the summer night, then suddenly concluded to have a stroll upon the shore before he retired.
"Just to stretch my legs, for, by Jove! I prefer the land to the deck," he muttered, as he strode up the gang-plank and felt his feet on terra firma.
The doctor found Dorian awake and restless, tormented by the yearning desire for Nita's presence.
"Doc, you must let her come to me to-morrow. I cannot bear this separation any longer!" he cried with impatient pain.
"Didn't I tell you that Mrs. Mountcastle was too weak to leave her berth?"
"Then I will go to her!" cried Dorian.
"You are also too weak to walk," replied his friend.