e bills. It was her
money that was paying the honeymoon expenses. And, of course, it was
her sixteen hundred dollars which had just been handed to Sears Kendrick
in the parlor of the parsonage.

No wonder that, under the circumstances, Egbert had chosen to pay. It
must have been a nerve-racking session for him, that interview with the
captain. Each minute might bring his bride-to-be to the parsonage door,
and if she learned before marriage of Cordelia's bonds and the
Kent-Phillips stock speculation, not to mention the threatened arrest
and consequent scandal, why--well, Elvira was fatuously smitten, but the
chances were that the wedding would have been postponed, if nothing
worse. No wonder Egbert preferred parting with a portion of his
lady-love's fortune to the risk of parting with the lady herself--and
the remainder of it.

Sears did not tell Judah of the elopement. He did not feel like it,
then. His had been a tiring day and the strain upon his own nerves not
slight. He wanted to rest, he wanted to think, and he did not want to
talk. Judah spared him the trouble; he did talking enough for two.

After supper George Kent came hurrying into the yard. Sears had expected
him and, when he came, led him into the "spare stateroom" and closed the
door. Then, without any preliminaries, he took the sixteen hundred
dollars from his wallet and gave them to him.

"There's your money, George," he said.

Kent could not believe it. He had come here, in the last stages of
despair. This was practically his final day of grace. The afternoon mail
had brought him another letter from his brother-in-law, making immediate
demand and threatening drastic action within the week. He had come,
haggard, nervous and trembling, ready to proclaim again his intention of
self-destruction.

He sat there, staring at the money in his hand, saying nothing. His face
was as white as the clean towels on the captain's washstand. Kendrick,
leaning forward, laid a hand on his knee.

"Brace up, George," he ordered, sharply. "Don't let go of the wheel."

Kent slowly lifted his gaze from the roll of bills to his friend's face.

"You--you _got_ it!" he faltered.

"_I_ got it--all of it. There's the whole sixteen hundred there. Count
it."

"But--but, oh, my God! I--I----"

"Sshh! Steady as she is, George. Count your money. Put it on the table
here by the lamp."

He took the bills from Kent's shaking fingers, arranged them on the
table and, at last,