now I could see them, they only rolled to and fro in round, swelling
hillocks, dull green against the eastern sky, with deep, sullen troughs
of a livid purple between them. But the fury of the storm had spent
itself, that was evident, and the steamer was making way steadily now.

The stewardess had gone away early in the night, being frightened to
death, she said, to seek more genial companionship than mine. So I was
alone, with the blending light of the early dawn and that of the lamp
burning feebly from the ceiling. I sat up in my berth and cautiously
unstitched the lining in the breast of my jacket. Here, months ago, when
I first began to foresee this emergency, and while I was still allowed
the use of my money, I had concealed one by one a few five-pound notes
of the Bank of England. I counted them over, eight of them; forty pounds
in all, my sole fortune, my only means of living. True, I had besides
these a diamond ring, presented to me under circumstances which made it
of no value to me, except for its worth in money, and a watch and chain
given to me years ago by my father. A jeweller had told me that the ring
was worth sixty pounds, and the watch and chain forty; but how difficult
and dangerous it would be for me to sell either of them! Practically my
means were limited to the eight bank-notes of five pounds each. I kept
out one for the payment of my passage, and then replaced the rest, and
carefully pinned them into the unstitched lining.

Then I began to wonder what my destination was. I knew nothing whatever
of the Channel Islands, except the names which I had learned at
school--Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, and Sark. I repeated these over and
over again to myself; but which of them we were bound for, or if we were
about to call at each one of them, I did not know. I should have been
more at home had I gone to Paris.