"No--no!" I said reassuringly. "It's most unlikely. Are you much
concerned?"

"Well, you see, when I came down," she said again in that precise demure
tone, "when I came down--into the garden Captain Anthony
misunderstood--"

"Of course he would. Men are so conceited," I said.

I saw it well enough that he must have thought she had come down to him.
What else could he have thought? And then he had been "gentleness
itself." A new experience for that poor, delicate, and yet so resisting
creature. Gentleness in passion! What could have been more seductive
to the scared, starved heart of that girl? Perhaps had he been violent,
she might have told him that what she came down to keep was the tryst of
death--not of love. It occurred to me as I looked at her, young,
fragile in aspect, and intensely alive in her quietness, that perhaps
she did not know herself then what sort of tryst she was coming down to
keep.

She smiled faintly, almost awkwardly as if she were totally unused to
smiling, at my cheap jocularity. Then she said with that forced
precision, a sort of conscious primness:

"I didn't want him to know."

I approved heartily. Quite right. Much better. Let him ever remain
under his misapprehension which was so much more flattering for him.

I tried to keep it in the tone of comedy; but she was, I believe, too
simple to understand my intention. She went on, looking down.

"Oh! You think so? When I saw you I didn't know why you were here. I
was glad when you spoke to me because this is exactly what I wanted to
ask you for. I wanted to ask you if you ever meet Captain Anthony--by
any chance--anywhere--you are a sailor too, are you not?--that you,
would never mention--never--that--that you had seen me over there."

"My dear young lady," I cried, horror-struck at the supposition. "Why
should I? What makes you think I should dream of..."

She had raised her head at my vehemence. She did not understand it.
The world had treated her so dishonourably that she had no notion even
of what mere decency of feeling is like. It was not her fault. Indeed,
I don't know why she should have put her trust in anybody's promises.
But I thought it would be better to promise. So I assured her that she
could depend on my absolute silence.

"I am not likely to ever set eyes on Captain Anthony," I added with
conviction--as a further guarantee.

She accepted my assurance in silence, without a sign. Her gr