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'Saltwood! A man forges his destiny of himself, not of his parents' wishes. If I'd listened to my father' He stopped abruptly. 'Fine old man. Village preacher. Nine children. Much loved by his parishioners, and do you know why? No sermon he ever preached was more than ten minutes long.'

'You have eight brothers and sisters?'

'Yes, and a half sister.'

'All of them married?'

'One,' and he said this with such fierce finality, as if a sore point had been touched, that Frank was not surprised when he stalked off. Then he recollected that not once during the entire voyage had he seen Rhodes talking with any of the lady passengers or acknowledging in any way that they existed.

In the days that followed that conversation Rhodes spent his time with a group of male passengers, discussing only one topic: England and her glory. 'Join us,' he called one morning to Saltwood, and when Frank sat with the men he was peppered with questions about South Africa, the future of ranching at De Kraal, and the likelihood that Zulu warriors might once more challenge English armies.

Rhodes liked his answers, and when the others left he kept Saltwood beside him: 'You're the only one who made sense.' Then he became excited. He did not speak, he oratedin a high voice that grew higher as his enthusiasm flamed. He sat on his hands, rocking back and forth, and always he returned to the subject of Africa and the extension of empire: 'Germany is coming at us from the west, and Portugal's dug in on the east. It will be our responsibility to fend them both off. Push the channels north. Always north till we reach Cairo. The world can be saved only by Englishmen standing together. Saltwood, I need your help.'

'What about the Boers?' Frank evaded. 'Can they, too, be used?'

'The Boers are some of the finest people on earth. United with them, we could form a nation of unsurpassed strength.'

'Why don't we invite them to join us?'

Mr. Rhodes frowned and rubbed his chin. 'You know, I'm a member of Parliament. And what kind of district elected me, if you please? Heavily Boer. I work with them, I collect their votesand damnit, I know them no better than when I started. And those who emigrated north I understand even less.'

'Is there a mystery?'

'Yes. They huddle in their little republics and refuse to join the mainstream of the human race. They keep away on their farms and leave the running of the world to us.'

'You speak as if you intend to rule the world.'

'Nothing less.' Quickly he added, 'If that sounds arrogant, I mean that the empire I shall put together for England must rule the world.' He dropped his voice: 'So your task will be to bring the Boers in with us.'

Then he became so impassioned on this point that he asked Saltwood to wait by the railing, and while other passengers were heading for the dining room, he ran to his cabin and returned with a rumpled piece of paper. It was a holograph of his will, and when Saltwood read it he was shocked: C. J. Rhodes was donating all his possessions to two minor officials of the English government, commissioning them to bring into the British Empire countries as diverse as the United States, the east coast of China and the whole continent of Africa, the Voortrekker republics not excluded.

'Can this really be done?' Frank asked.

'It must be,' Rhodes said, 'and you're to be part of it.'

When the volatile man disappeared into his cabin, Saltwood reflected on his curious behavior: he was offering a young Oriel graduate, whom he scarcely knew, a part in governing the world, but he never invited him to his cabin, or to his table, or to any other event of which he was a part. And one afternoon when he saw Frank talking with an attractive girl on her way home to Cape Town, he actually scowled and turned away in disgust. For some days thereafter he did not speak to Frank, and when he finally did he muttered, 'I hope you're not making silly promises to some silly girl,' and only when Saltwood replied, 'Hardly,' did he