They had been cruising in the Atlantic with the idea of going south, but he had recently changed his mind and decided to go home.

He had not expected such damnable luck as to be run down in home waters, but he supposed that Fate was against him.

He only asked now to be put ashore as soon as possible, being for the moment heartily sick of sea-travel.

This with his most rueful grimace which Captain Beaumont of the _Corfe Castle_ received with gravely official sympathy.
"Well, I hope you don't blame us for your bad luck," he said.

"We might have been sunk ourselves." "I never blame anyone but the devil for that," said Saltash generously.
"And as you managed to pick us all up I am glad on the whole that you weren't." And then he turned sharply at a knock on the door behind him to see a lean, lank man enter who peered at him curiously through screwed-up eyes as though he had never seen anything like him before.
Captain Beaumont introduced him.