A moment later Kirk followed him
and made a round of the deck, staring at each man he met and
mentally estimating the girth of his neck; but it seemed that the
male passengers of the Santa Cruz were all of medium size, and he
saw no one whose appearance held out the slightest hope. He did
observe one fellow whose neck seemed as large as his own, but the
man looked surly and not too cleanly, and Kirk was not yet
desperate enough to bring himself to the point of approaching such
a fellow for such a favor. He thought of appealing directly to the
captain, but promptly remembered that he was a small, wiry man
whose wardrobe could by no possible chance afford him relief. At
last he made his way toward the smoking-room, determined to enlist
the help of his new acquaintance, Stein.
Midway aft, he paused. A girl had emerged from the deck-house
ahead of him, whose appearance was sufficiently striking to divert
him, momentarily at least, from his quest. She was well above the
usual height, quite slender, yet of an exquisite rounded fulness,
while her snug-fitting tailor-made gown showed the marks of a
Redfern or a Paquin. He noted, also, that her stride was springy
and athletic and her head well carried. Feeling that friendly
approval with which one recognizes a member of his own kind, Kirk
let his eyes follow her, then retraced his way around the deck in
the hope of meeting her face to face.
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