"How could you be so foolish?" said he. "In another moment you would
have been flung out to sea!"
"And pray, Mr. Heigham," she answered, in a cutting and sarcastic
voice, "is that my business or your own? Surely it would have been
time enough for you to take a liberty when I asked you to jump over
after me."
Arthur drew himself up to his full height and looked dignified--he
could look dignified when he liked.
"I do not quite understand you, Mrs. Carr," he said, with a little
bow. "What I did, I did to save you from going overboard. Next time
that such a little adventure comes in my way, I hope, for my own sake,
that it may concern a lady possessed of less rudeness and more
gratitude."
And then, glaring defiance at each other, they separated; she marching
off with all the dignity of an offended queen to the "sweet seclusion
that a cabin grants," whilst he withdrew moodily to a bench,
comforted, however, not a little by the thought that he had given Mrs.
Carr a Roland for her Oliver.
Mrs. Carr's bound on to the bulwarks had been the last effort of that
prince of demons, sea-sickness, rending her ere he left.
Pages:
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427