re."

Silence from Corinna.

"I don't know what cause you have to be sore at me," he resumed when he
got another opportunity. "It seems to me I'm the one----"

"Oh, you'll get over it, I suspect."

"Corinna, why did you run away?"

She rolled a bread ball. "Because I was ashamed."

He looked at her in honest surprise. "Ashamed! Of what?"

"You know very well what I mean."

"I swear I do not!"

"I will hate you if you force me to say it."

"I'll take my chance of that," he said grimly.

"Very well. Don't you understand that a person may be carried away for
the moment, and do things and say things that they bitterly regret
afterwards. Of course if you have no standards of right and wrong you
wouldn't understand."

"Thanks for the compliment."

"What happened that night," she went on, "that sort of thing is
horrible to me!"

At last he understood--and frowned, for it was his deepest feelings
that she slandered. But he was not fully convinced that she was
sincere. "Then you lied when you said you loved me?"

"I was carried away. That sort of thing isn't love."

This angered Evan--but he held his tongue. He sought to find out from
her face what she really thought. She looked out of the window.

"Now I hope you understand," she said loftily.

"You have a lot to learn," said Evan, "about love and other things."

"At any rate I hope I have made you see how useless it is to follow
me," she said sharply.

"It is useless," said Evan--"to talk to you," he added to himself.
"When I get you off this confounded steamboat we'll see what we'll see."

"Don't stare at me like that," said Corinna. "It's attracting
attention."

Evan thought: "If there was only another girl on board that I could
rush! That might fetch her!"

Evan saw indeed that Dordess was regarding him quizzically. Of all the
men (saving Denton) Dordess was the only one who did not scowl at Evan.
Evan was not deceived thereby into thinking that he had inspired any
friendliness in this one. It was simply that Dordess was more
sophisticated, and had his features under better control. To create a
diversion, Evan asked him:

"What has your particular job been to-day?"

"Serving at the water-cooler," was the response, with a wry smile, "to
keep down the mortality from colic."

Thereafter Evan took part in the general conversation, and when the
time came to rise from the table, he let Corinna go her way unhindered.
He pitched in