He was pacing it, round and round, like a caged beast, when the stars
grew faint and the silver ripple of the dayspring broke over the sea.
For two hours and more he had been thinking hard, and he rested his
elbows on the balcony and paused for a minute or two to watch the red
ball of the sun as it heaved above the waters. To the north, beyond
the roofs of Harwich, he saw the lights of the royal squadron still
clear in the grey dawn. Next his gaze turned to the triumphal arch
in the road below, which wore a peculiarly dissipated look at this
hour. Then it strayed back to the garden below him and beyond the
party hedge; and was suddenly arrested.
On a rustic seat, in the far corner, sat Captain Barker, trying to
read in a book.
The little man, too, had obviously passed the night out of his bed.
His clothes were dishevelled and his attitude was one of extreme
dejection. He kept his head bowed over the book and was wholly
unaware of the eyes that watched him from the opposite pavilion.
But his friend above on the balcony displayed the most nervous
apprehension of being seen. He took his hand from the rail, as if
fearful of making the slightest sound, and stole back through the
window into the lumber-room. Once within the house, however, he
behaved with the briskest determination.
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