ten o'clock before
The golden moments were racing by , and he was in a fever to get Bobby away to himself , he had decided on a course which he felt did credit to his power of self-control . He would permit himself the luxury of showing her that her affection for him was wholly returned , without in any way committing himself to a definite engagement . He would , in short , ask her to accept a sort of promissory note on his affections , to be presented at any time after the steamer left Hong-Kong . It was ten o'clock before he contrived , to escape Mrs. Weston 's vigilant eye and whisk Bobby off to a certain favored nook on the boat-deck just outside the captain 's state-room . Here they had spent many happy evenings , notwithstanding the fact that their figures , silhouetted against the light , had never failed to provoke the captain to a profanity that was not always inaudible . To-night , however , the captain was detained below , and they had the entire Yellow Sea to themselves as they sat on a projecting ledge and leaned their elbows comfortably on the rail . It was an enticing night , with nothing left of the recent storm save a subtle thrill that still lingered in wind and wave .