About eleven o'clock
The more experienced travellers knew that ere a week had passed the scene would be changed , that a laughing babel of voices would succeed the silence , and deck sports and other entertainments take the place of inaction ; but the younger members of the party saw no such alleviation ahead , and resigned themselves to a month of frosty solitude . The ladies dozed amongst their cushions , but the men strolled up and down the deck smoking their cigars with that air of resigned dejection which seems to be the monopoly of Englishmen of the upper classes . The quick movements , animated gestures , and sparkling eyes of the Southerner were all lacking in these strongly built , well-dressed , well-set-up men , who managed to conceal all signs of animation so successfully that no one looking at them could have believed that one was the wit of his regiment , another celebrated throughout an Indian province for his courage and daring , and a third an expectant bridegroom ! About eleven o'clock a diversion was made on the upper deck by the appearance of two more travellers -- an elegant-looking woman accompanied by her husband , who came forward in search of the deck-chairs which had been placed in readiness for their use . They were not a young couple by any means , yet the eyes of the passengers followed their movements with interest , for they were not only exceedingly good to look upon , but had an air of enjoyment in their surroundings and in each other 's society which is unfortunately not universal among middle-aged couples . The man was tall and slight , with the weather-beaten , dried-up skin which tells of a long residence under burning suns , and he had a long nose , and eyes which appeared almost startlingly blue against the brown of his skin . They were curious eyes , with a kind of latent fierceness in their good humour , but just now they shone in holiday mood , and softened into tenderness as he waited on his wife .