And he paid yet again. He paid and smiled, he who had meant to be the
masterful male, he who deemed himself always equal to a crisis. But in
this crisis he was helpless.
They set off down the pier, brilliant in the brilliant crowd. Everybody
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.
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