Almost every one held flowers which had been brought to them: not costly bouquets, but homely bunches of marigolds or pinks.

They carried, too, little German or American flags, which they waved frantically.
The gangways fell, and the huge ship parted from the dock.

It was but an inch, but the whole ocean yawned in it between those who went and those who stayed.

There was a sudden silence; a thousand handkerchiefs fluttered white on the pier and the flags and flowers were waved on the ship, but there was not a cry nor a sound.
James Perry, one of the dozen Americans on board, was leaning over the rail watching it all with an amused smile.

"Hello, Watts!" he called, as another young man joined him.