eir love was slightly disturbed.

Nobody could have guessed that she was in monetary difficulties on her
own account. Denry, as a chivalrous lover, had assisted her out of the
fearful quagmire of her rent; but she owed much beyond rent. Yet, when
some of her quarterly fees had come in, her thoughts had instantly run
to Llandudno, joy, and frocks. She did not know what money was, and she
never would. This was, perhaps, part of her superior splendour. The
gentle, timid, silent Nellie occasionally let Denry see that she, too,
was scandalised by her bosom friend's recklessness. Often Nellie would
modestly beg for permission to pay her share of the cost of an
amusement. And it seemed just to Denry that she should pay her share,
and he violently wished to accept her money, but he could not. He would
even get quite curt with her when she insisted. From this it will be
seen how absurdly and irrationally different he was from the rest of us.

Nellie was continually with them, except just before they separated for
the night. So that Denry paid consistently for three. But he liked
Nellie Cotterill. She blushed so easily, and she so obviously worshipped
Ruth and admired himself, and there was a marked vein of common-sense in
her ingenuous composition.

On the Monday morning he was up early and off to Bursley to collect
rents and manage estates. He had spent nearly five pounds beyond his
expectation. Indeed, if by chance he had not gone to Llandudno with a
portion of the previous week's rents in his pockets, he would have been
in what the Five Towns call a fix.

While in Bursley he thought a good deal. Bursley in August encourages
nothing but thought. His mother was working as usual. His recitals to
her of the existence led by betrothed lovers at Llandudno were vague.

On the Tuesday evening he returned to Llandudno, and, despite the
general trend of his thoughts, it once more occurred that his pockets
were loaded with a portion of the week's rents. He did not know
precisely what was going to happen, but he knew that something was going
to happen; for the sufficient reason that his career could not continue
unless something did happen. Without either a quarrel, an understanding,
or a miracle, three months of affianced bliss with Ruth Earp would
exhaust his resources and ruin his reputation as one who was ever equal
to a crisis.

III

What immediately happened was a storm at sea. He heard it mentioned at
Rhyl, and he saw, i