ne so. Did I think she allowed
him to treat her with disrespect? That idea was not very complimentary
to her! He had treated her better and been kinder to her than most other
people--there were very few on the ship that hadn't been insulting. She
should be glad enough when she got off it, to her own people, to some
one whom no one would have a right to say anything about. What was there
in her position that was not 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 until 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. 'And what did you reply?'

'Oh, I grovelled; I told 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 to-day?'

'No indeed--she'll do very well now.'

I gave a sigh of relief. 'All's well that ends well!'

Jasper, that day, spent a great deal of time with his mother. She had
told me that she really had had no 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 she
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"?'

'Well, there are plenty, on a ship like this.'

'Well then, we won't.'

'Maybe we won't have the chance,' said the dreadful little woman.

'Oh, at that moment a universal geniality reigns.'

'Well, she's afraid, all the same.'

'So much the better.'

'Yes, so much the better.'

All the next day, too, the girl remained invisible and Mrs. Nettlepoint
told me that she had not been in to see her. She had inquired by the
s