In a Steamer Chair

During his first night aboard steamer "City of Buffalo," Mr. George Morris dreams he is being chased around deck by a pair of young ladies -- one a pronounced blonde, and the other an equally pronounced brunette . . . and he suffers a great deal of uncertainty as to which he desires the most to avoid. At last they have him cornered and start mopping the deck with him -- with the "swish, swish, swish" of men scrubbing the deck in early morning!

Troubling dream . . . yet the blonde from whom sought escape, by booking this voyage, is also on board -- as is this reserved, literate, and interesting brunette, Miss Katherine Earle . . . who is traveling not so much away from America, as he is, but "toward" a definite destination . . . about which she will say nothing.

Scottish novelist Robert Barr (1850-1912) is at the height of his powers with "In a Steamer Chair" and the other stories in this collection, depicting life aboard the oceangoing steamer ships around the turn of the last century with knife-sharp precision and artistry.