"I fear that there is something more serious than accident here,
Mr. Brently," said the captain. "I wish that you would make a
personal and very careful examination of Mr. Caldwell's effects,
to ascertain if there is any clew to a motive either for suicide
or murder--sift the thing to the bottom."

"Aye, aye, sir!" responded Mr. Brently, and left to commence his
investigation.

Hazel Strong was prostrated. For two days she did not leave
her cabin, and when she finally ventured on deck she was very wan
and white, with great, dark circles beneath her eyes. Waking or
sleeping, it seemed that she constantly saw that dark body dropping,
swift and silent, into the cold, grim sea.

Shortly after her first appearance on deck following the tragedy,
Monsieur Thuran joined her with many expressions of kindly solicitude.

"Oh, but it is terrible, Miss Strong," he said. "I cannot rid my
mind of it."

"Nor I," said the girl wearily. "I feel that he might have been
saved had I but given the alarm."

"You must not reproach yourself, my dear Miss Strong," urged Monsieur
Thuran. "It was in no way your fault. Another would have done
as you did. Who would think that because something fell into the
sea from a ship that it must necessarily be a man? Nor would the
outcome have been different had you given an alarm. For a while
they would have doubted your story, thinking it but the nervous