“Well, sir, he got out, all of a sudden, but when he let go the edge of his bunk he fell down. He isn’t lightheaded, though, it seems to me.”

“No,” I said dully, without looking at Ransome. He waited for a moment, then cautiously, as if not to give offence: “I don’t think we need lose much of that stuff, sir,” he said, “I can sweep it up, every bit of it almost, and then we could sift the glass out. I will go about it at once. It will not make the breakfast late, not ten minutes.”

“Oh, yes,” I said bitterly. “Let the breakfast wait, sweep up every bit of it, and then throw the damned lot overboard!”