They waited, Norah's hand in Dick's. The water was warmer than the air, and a mist hung on its surface. Above the mist the mountains across the lake were already outlined against a faint sky.
Voices on the Mimi, carried by the water, were audible.
'Damn Alibaba!' said Dick. 'Why can't he send the boat?'
Norah felt her last night's uneasiness return. 'But it's early yet,' she said.
The talking on board continued. Alibaba's voice was recognisable, raised in command or protest.
'He's having a job getting the boat's crew out,' said Dick, in answer to an unspoken anxiety.
Dawn came suddenly, and the water showed a delicate misty blue, as if it were seen through silvered crystal. Dick raised his voice in a hail. The sounds on the steamer ceased. She was visible now, squat and black on the water, but the distance was too great to distinguish figures in the group that darkened the deck.
Dick hailed again.
A silence seemed to brood on the face of the waters till the banal reassurance 'All right' floated to them on the motionless air.
'That wasn't Alibaba?' asked Norah.