in the
face.

She crimsoned to her temples, then her eyes flashed violet fire.

"Not the slightest," she said.

"Thanks," said Darrow, flippantly; "I only wanted to know."

"You know now, don't you?" she asked, a trifle excited, yet realizing
instinctively that somehow she had been tricked. And yet, until that
moment, she had believed Darrow to be her slave. He had been and was
still; but she was not longer certain, and her uncertainty confused her.

"Do you mean to say that you have any human feeling left for that
vagabond?" demanded Darrow. So earnest was he that his tanned face grew
tense and white.

"I'll tell you," she said, breathlessly, "that from this moment I have
no human feeling left for you! And I never had! I know it now; never!
never! I had rather be the divorced wife of Jack Haltren than the wife
of any man alive!"

The angry beauty of her young face was his reward; he turned away and
climbed the companion. And in the shattered wheel-house he faced his own
trouble, muttering: "I've done my best; I've tried to show the pluck he
showed. He's got his chance now!" And he leaned heavily on the wheel,
covering his eyes with his hands; for he was fiercely in love, and he
had destroyed for a friend's sake all that he had ever hoped for.

But there was more to be done; he aroused himself presently and wandered
around to the engine-room, where the major was prowling about, fussing
and fuming and bullying his engineer.

"Major," said Darrow, guilelessly, "do you suppose Haltren's appearance
has upset his wife?"

"Eh?" said the major. "No, I don't! I refuse to believe that a woman of
Mrs. Haltren's sense and personal dignity could be upset by such a man!
By gad! sir, if I thought it--for one instant, sir--for one second--I'd
reason with her. I'd presume so far as to express my personal opinion of
this fellow Haltren!"

"Perhaps I'd better speak to her," began Darrow.

"No, sir! Why the devil should you assume that liberty?" demanded Major
Brent. "Allow me, sir; allow me! Mrs. Haltren is my guest!"

The major's long-latent jealousy of Darrow was now fully ablaze; purple,
pop-eyed, and puffing, he toddled down the companion on his errand of
consolation. Darrow watched him go. "That settles him!" he said. Then he
called the engineer over and bade him rig up and launch the portable
canoe.

"Put one paddle in it, Johnson, and say to Mrs. Haltren that she had
better paddle north, because a mile below ther