The urge was upon me, and there was no use in attempting to curb it longer. For six weeks I had been on the verge of realizing a desperate resolution that had been forming in my mind for the past five or six years-to go around the world, even if everything else had to be sacrificed. Giving nothing an opportunity to divert my plans, I quickly assembled my few hundred dollars, obtained the all-important passport, and secured a ridiculously cheap passage for the Orient. After caring for these details, the remainder of the journey promised to be easy.