it.' That brought on an outbreak: she
became very violent."

"Do you mean indignant?"

"Yes, indignant, and above all flustered and excited--at my presuming to
suppose her relations with my son not the very simplest in the world. I
might scold him as much as I liked--that was between ourselves; but she
didn't see why I should mention such matters to herself. Did I think she
allowed him to treat her with disrespect? That idea wasn't much of a
compliment to either of them! He had treated her better and been kinder
to her than most other people--there were very few on the ship who hadn't
been insulting. She should be glad enough when she got off it, to her
own people, to some one whom nobody would have a right to speak of. What
was there in her position that wasn't perfectly natural? what was the
idea of making a fuss about her position? Did I mean that she took it
too easily--that she didn't think as much as she ought about Mr.
Porterfield? Didn't I believe she was attached to him--didn't I believe
she was just counting the hours till she saw him? That would be the
happiest moment of her life. It showed how little I knew her if I
thought anything else."

"All that must have been rather fine--I should have liked to hear it," I
said after quite hanging on my friend's lips. "And what did you reply?"

"Oh I grovelled; I assured her that I accused her--as regards my son--of
nothing worse than an excess of good nature. She helped him to pass his
time--he ought to be immensely obliged. Also that it would be a very
happy moment for me too when I should hand her over to Mr. Porterfield."

"And will you come up today?"

"No indeed--I think she'll do beautifully now."

I heaved this time a sigh of relief. "All's well that ends well!"

Jasper spent that day a great deal of time with his mother. She had told
me how much she had lacked hitherto proper opportunity to talk over with
him their movements after disembarking. Everything changes a little the
last two or three days of a voyage; the spell is broken and new
combinations take place. Grace Mavis was neither on deck nor at dinner,
and I drew Mrs. Peck's attention to the extreme propriety with which she
now conducted herself. She had spent the day in meditation and judged it
best to continue to meditate.

"Ah she's afraid," said my implacable neighbour.

"Afraid of what?"

"Well, that we'll tell tales when we get there."

"Whom do you mean by 'we'?"