“You are wise,” it ran. It was signed with a big figure 4.

I could afford to smile to myself!

The sea was not too choppy. I enjoyed a passable dinner, made up my mind as to the majority of my fellow passengers, and had a rubber or two of bridge. Then I turned in and slept like a log as I always do on board ship.

I was awakened by feeling myself persistently shaken. Dazed and bewildered, I saw that one of the ship’s officers was standing over me. He gave a sigh of relief as I sat up.

“Thank the Lord I’ve got you awake at last. I’ve had no end of a job. Do you always sleep like that?”

“What’s the matter?” I asked, still bewildered and not fully awake. “Is there anything wrong with the ship?”

“I expect you know what’s the matter better than I do,” he replied drily. “Special instructions from the Admiralty. There’s a destroyer waiting to take you off.”