He was in the disagreeable
plight of having subjected her to danger, and as they entered the
brilliant saloon he freed himself of the ulster with its telltale gash
and sought to minimize her impression of the incident.
Shirley did not refer to the matter again, but resolved to keep her own
counsel. She felt that any one who would accept the one chance in a
thousand of striking down an enemy on a steamer deck must be animated by
very bitter hatred. She knew that to speak of the affair to her father or
brother would be to alarm them and prejudice them against John Armitage,
about whom her brother, at least, had entertained doubts. And it is not
reassuring as to a man of whom little or nothing is known that he is
menaced by secret enemies.
The attack had found Armitage unprepared and off guard, but with swift
reaction his wits were at work. He at once sought the purser and
scrutinized every name on the passenger list. It was unlikely that a
steerage passenger could reach the saloon deck unobserved; a second cabin
passenger might do so, however, and he sought among the names in the
second cabin list for a clue.
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