He looked anxious, and the maid, who seemed inclined to laugh, said that of course they had, a nice airy bedroom on the same floor on the other side of the passage—also commanding the sea.
The captain’s face beamed again.
“And now, my girl—but, by the way, I shall want another bedroom. Have you—”
“I’m sorry to say that we have not. The rest of the house is quite full.”
Captain Bream’s face again became anxious. “That’s bad,” he said; “of course I can get one out o’ the house, but it would be inconvenient.”
“There is a hattic, sir,” said the maid, “but it is ’igh up, and so very small, that I fear—”
“Let me see the attic,” said the captain, promptly.
The maid conducted him up another flight of steps to a room, or rather closet, which did not appear to be more than five feet broad and barely six feet long; including the storm-window, it might have been perhaps seven feet long. It was situated in a sort of angle, so that from the window you could have a view of a piece of slate roof, and two crooked chimney pots with a slice of the sea between them. As there was much traffic on the sea off that coast, the slice referred to frequently exhibited a ship or a boat for a few seconds.
“My study!” murmured the captain, looking round on the bare walls, and the wooden chair, and a low bedstead which constituted the furniture. “Not much room for the intellect to expand here. However, I’ve seen worse.”
“We consider it a very good hattic, sir,” said the little maid, somewhat hurt by the last remark.