It was scarcely necessary to feel his way as he moved about, for he knew
everything so well. Then God was very kind: a deep sleep of weariness came upon
him just as he would have thought of Maisie, and he slept till the steamer had
cleared the mouth of the Thames and was lifting to the pulse of the Channel.
The rattle of the engines, the reek of oil and paint, and a very familiar sound
in the next cabin roused him to his new inheritance.
"Oh, it's good to be alive again!" He yawned, stretched himself vigorously, and
went on deck to be told that they were almost abreast of the lights of
Brighton. This is no more open water than Trafalgar Square is a common; the
free levels begin at Ushant; but none the less Dick could feel the healing of
the sea at work upon him already. A boisterous little cross-swell swung the
steamer disrespectfully by the nose; and one wave breaking far aft spattered
the quarterdeck and the pile of new deck-chairs. He heard the foam fall with
the clash of broken glass, was stung in the face by a cupful, and sniffing
luxuriously, felt his way to the smoking-room by the wheel. There a strong
breeze found him, blew his cap off and left him bareheaded in the doorway, and
the smoking-room steward, understanding that he was a voyager of experience,
said that the weather would be stiff in the chops off the Channel and more than
half a gale in the Bay.
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