Quite unprepared.

Gave no name.
Called away in a hurry.
What sort of lady?
Youngish; good-looking; brown hair and eyes, the clerk thought; a sort of creamy skin; and a--well, a mesmeric kind of glance that seemed to go right through you.
"That will do," I answered, sure now of my quarry.

"To which port did she book ?" "To Cape Town." "Very well," I said, promptly.

"You may reserve me a good berth in the next outgoing steamer." It was just like Hilda's impulsive character to rush off in this way at a moment's notice; and just like mine to follow her.

But it piqued me a little to think that, but for the accident of an accident, I might never have tracked her down.