And he knew that to bring upon Elizabeth the miseries of an uneasy
conscience would be to kill her by slow torture. Besides, he himself
believed in the danger, his own conscience was aroused, and that was not
easily put to sleep. But if he had heard the verdict of Mrs. Eveleigh,
who knew nothing of the matter, he would not have blamed her so much.
He had hired this little schooner in which they now were at a ruinous
rate, and had not been able to do even that until he had pledged himself
to pay all damages in case of loss. Governor Shirley had seized the
opportunity to send dispatches several days earlier than he had
intended. Mr. Royal went with a picked crew, men both honest and
skilful. He knew the dangers of French vessels as well as Mrs. Eveleigh
did, but his daughter's persistent assertion: "We shall be murderers,"
had overborne every objection.
Elizabeth sitting on deck that morning, was thinking of these things,
and tracing in this danger which she was trying to avert, one of the
consequences of her frolic on the river that summer evening.
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