"Share?" repeated Mr. Stobell. "Share? Why, we've been shipwrecked.
Haven't you heard?"
"Perhaps you came to my house when I wasn't at home," retorted Miss
Vickers, in a trembling but sarcastic voice. "I want to hear about it.
That's what I've come for."
She walked to the dining-room and, as Mr. Stobell still stood in the
doorway, pushed past him, followed by her father. Mr. Stobell, after a
short deliberation, returned to his seat at the breakfast-table, and in
an angry and disjointed fashion narrated the fate of the Fair Emily and
their subsequent adventures. Miss Vickers heard him to an end in
silence.
"What time was it when the ship struck on the rock?" she inquired.
Mr. Stobell stared at her. "Eleven o'clock," he said, gruffly.
Miss Vickers made a note in a little red-covered memorandum-book.
"Who got in the boat first?" she demanded.
Mr. Stobell's lips twisted in a faint grin. "Chalk did," he said, with
relish.
Miss Vickers, nodding at the witness to call his attention to the fact,
made another note.
"How far was the boat off when the ship sank?"
"Here, look here--" began the indignant Stobell.
"How far was the boat off?" interposed the witness, severely; "that's
what we want to know.
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