As before she did not look
round. She didn't look at anything; and she seemed to be in such a hurry
to get ashore that she made for the gangway and started down the ladder
without waiting for the captain.
What struck the ship-keeper most was the absent, unseeing expression of
the captain, striding after the girl. He passed him, the ship-keeper,
without notice, without an order, without so much as a look. The captain
had never done so before. Always had a nod and a pleasant word for a
man. From this slight the ship-keeper drew a conclusion unfavourable to
the strange girl. He gave them time to get down on the wharf before
crossing the deck to steal one more look at the pair over the rail. The
captain took hold of the girl's arm just before a couple of railway
trucks drawn by a horse came rolling along and hid them from the ship-
keeper's sight for good.
Next day, when the chief mate joined the ship, he told him the tale of
the visit, and expressed himself about the girl "who had got hold of the
captain" disparagingly. She didn't look healthy, he explained.
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