Mr. Smith shook his head slightly. And Anthony, trying to be friendly,

was just saying that he proposed to keep the ship away from home for at

least two years. "I think, sir, that from every point of view it would

be best," when Flora came back and the conversation, cut short in that

direction, languished and died. Later in the evening, after Anthony had

been gone for hours, on the point of separating for the night, Mr. Smith

remarked suddenly to his daughter after a long period of brooding:

"A will is nothing. One tears it up. One makes another." Then after

reflecting for a minute he added unemotionally: "One tells lies about it."

Flora, patient, steeled against every hurt and every disgust to the point

of wondering at herself, said: "You push your dislike of--of--Roderick

too far, papa. You have no regard for me. You hurt me."

He, as ever inexpressive to the point of terrifying her sometimes by the

contrast of his placidity and his words, turned away from her a pair of

faded eyes.

"I wonder how far your dislike goes," he began. "His very name sticks in

your throat. I've noticed it. It hurts me. What do you think of that?

You might remember that you are not the only person that's hurt by your

folly, by your hastiness, by your recklessness." He brought back his

eyes to her face. "And the very day before they were going to let me

out." His feeble voice failed him altogether, the narrow compressed lips

only trembling for a time before he added with that extraordinary

equanimity of tone, "I call it sinful."

Flora made no answer. She judged it simpler, kinder and certainly safer

to let him talk himself out. This, Mr. Smith, being naturally taciturn,

never took very long to do. And we must not imagine that this sort of

thing went on all the time. She had a few good days in that cottage. The

absence of Anthony was a relief and his visits were pleasurable. She was

quieter. He was quieter too. She was almost sorry when the time to join

the ship arrived. It was a moment of anguish, of excitement; they

arrived at the dock in the evening and Flora after "making her father

comfortable" according to established usage lingered in the state-room

long enough to notice that he was surprised. She caught his pale eyes

observing her quite stonily. Then she went out after a cheery

good-night.

Contrary to her hopes she found Anthony yet in the saloon. Sitting in

his arm-chair at the head of the table he was picking up some business

papers which he put hastily in his breast pocket and got up. He asked

her if her day, travelling up to town and then doing some shopping, had

tired her. She shook her head. Then he wanted to know in a half-jocular

way how she felt about going away, and for a long voyage this time.




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