The ship has entered the Tropics.

The ocean fills with atolls, where palm trees nod and wave in the breeze like perpetually fluttering eyebrows, and the blue seas break over reefs of shining coral.

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On deck, Luke Tarrant is explaining to Amanda some of the features of coral.

‘Have you ever paused to think,’ he asks, ‘how many millions of tiny creatures have gone into the making of that reef? Why, surely the manner in which the living coral adapts herself to her particular environment is one of the wonders of nature! Consider the far side of the reef where the waves break more violently upon it; there you will find the tough species such as the singing coral. On the reef edge are the more delicate corals: the stag’s horn and the pretty sea fans. While on the landward side of the reef where it is well protected from the breaking of the surf, you will find the brain coral and the favids.’

‘The singing coral!’ Amanda murmurs. She is enchanted. Her heart swells with happiness. She feels as if there is a song hovering on her lips, a strange, ecstatic poem that waits just out of reach of her tongue.

‘You know a great deal about the coral, Luke.’ she says.

Luke smiles. His white teeth gleam almost as brightly as the singing coral.

‘I read it in a book,’ he replies. ‘It’s the sort of information which can come in useful in a business like mine.’