"It's now or never! Five-and-twenty'll buy the _Fleetwing_, if
ten's paid down this mornun."
And Denry replied boldly:
"You shall have it in an hour. Where shall you be?"
"I'll be in John's cabin, under the pier," said Cregeen, "where ye found
me this mornun."
"Right," said Denry.
If Ruth had not been caracoling on her absurdly high horse, she would
have had the truth out of Denry in a moment concerning these early
morning interviews and mysterious transactions in shipping. But from
that height she could not deign to be curious. And so she said naught.
Denry had passed the whole morning since breakfast and had uttered no
word of pre-prandial encounters with mariners, though he had talked a
lot about his article for the _Signal_ and of how he had risen
betimes in order to despatch it by the first train.
And as Ruth showed no curiosity Denry behaved on the assumption that she
felt none. And the situation grew even more strained.
As they walked down the pier towards the beach, at the dinner-hour, Ruth
bowed to a dandiacal man who obsequiously saluted her.
"Who's that?" asked Denry, instinctively.
"It's a gentleman that I was once engaged to," answered Ruth, with cold,
brief politeness.
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