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was talking of wrecks and lifeboats. The new lifeboat had done nothing, having been forestalled by the Prestatyn boat; but Llandudno was apparently very proud of its brave old worn-out lifeboat which had brought ashore the entire crew of the _Hjalmar,_ without casualty, in a terrific hurricane. "Run along, child," said Ruth to Nellie, "while uncle and auntie talk to each other for a minute." Nellie stared, blushed, and walked forward in confusion. She was startled. And Denry was equally startled. Never before had Ruth so brazenly hinted that lovers must be left alone at intervals. In justice to her, it must be said that she was a mirror for all the proprieties. Denry had even reproached her, in his heart, for not sufficiently showing her desire for his exclusive society. He wondered, now, what was to be the next revelation of her surprising character. "I had our bill this morning," said Ruth. She leaned gracefully on the handle of her sunshade, and they both stared at the sea. She was very elegant, with an aristocratic air. The bill, as she mentioned it, seemed a very negligible trifle. Nevertheless, Denry's heart quaked. "Oh!" he said. "Did you pay it?" "Yes," said she. "The landlady wanted the money, she told me. So Nellie gave me her share, and I paid it at once." "Oh!" said Denry. There was a silence. Denry felt as though he were defending a castle, or as though he were in a dark room and somebody was calling him, calling him, and he was pretending not to be there and holding his breath. "But I've hardly enough money left," said Ruth. "The fact is, Nellie and I spent such a lot yesterday and the day before.... You've no idea how money goes!" "Haven't I?" said Denry. But not to her--only to his own heart. To her he said nothing. "I suppose we shall have to go back home," she ventured lightly. "One can't run into debt here. They'd claim your luggage." "What a pity!" said Denry, sadly. Just those few words--and the interesting part of the interview was over! All that followed counted not in the least. She had meant to induce him to offer to defray the whole of her expenses in Llandudno--no doubt in the form of a loan; and she had failed. She had intended him to repair the disaster caused by her chronic extravagance. And he had only said: "What a pity!" "Yes, it is!" she agreed bravely, and with a finer disdain than ever of petty financial troubles. "Still, it can't be helped." "No,
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