Horridge resumed his seat and held out his hand almost eagerly.

For a moment or two he shook as though he had an ague.

Then, just as suddenly as it had come upon him, the fit passed.

He drained the contents of the tumbler at a gulp, set it down empty by his side, and stretched out his hand for a cigar.
"The end of my journey didn't help matters any," he went on.

"I daren't even make for a Dutch port, and we were picked up eventually by a tramp steamer from Newcastle to London with coals.