"My home is not in England," she answered; "it is here," and she waved her arm dramatically as if to indicate sea and space.
"At any rate, I presume you will go to England," he said, in nowise affected by her poetic suggestion.
"If I must."
"I can't force you to go anywhere against your will," he answered in the tone of one trying to keep patient. "If you take my advice, you will consult the British Consul."
"You seem very anxious to get rid of me!" exclaimed the girl with sudden bitterness. "Have I been such an encumbrance since I came on board?"
Calamity gazed at her flushed and angry face with surprise.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"I mean this," she replied impulsively. "Ever since I have been on this ship you've either ignored me or else treated me as if I were a nuisance which had to be tolerated somehow. Yet I've done my share of the work, haven't I?"
The question was flung out like a challenge, and some moments elapsed before the Captain spoke. It was, perhaps, the first time he had ever considered this girl as an entity, as anything but an unwelcome passenger forced upon him by circumstances.
"What has all this to do with your destination?" he asked at last.