This was just what he wished; he sat all day silent and alone, or else walked up and down the great deck that ran from stem to stern, still always alone.

As there were no second-class or steerage passengers on the _Scoriac_, there were no deck restraints, and so there was ample room for individual solitude.

The travellers, however, were a sociable lot, and a general feeling of friendliness was abroad.

The first four days of the journey were ideally fine, and life was a joy.

The great ship, with bilge keels, was as steady as a rock.
Among the other passengers was an American family consisting of Andrew Stonehouse, the great ironmaster and contractor, with his wife and little daughter.
Stonehouse was a remarkable man in his way, a typical product of the Anglo-Saxon under American conditions.