affectionately, A. A.'

"Under this was written, in Midwinter's hand: 'Remember what I told you.
Write (it will break it to him more gently in that way), and beg him
to accept your apologies, and to excuse you from sailing on the trial
cruise.'

"I have written without a moment's loss of time. The sooner Manuel knows
(which he is certain to do through Armadale) that the promise not to
sail in the yacht is performed already, so far as I am concerned, the
safer I shall feel."

"October 27th.--A letter from Armadale, in answer to mine. He is full
of ceremonious regrets at the loss of my company on the cruise; and he
politely hopes that Midwinter may yet induce me to alter my mind. Wait a
little, till he finds that Midwinter won't sail with him either!....

"October 30th.--Nothing new to record until to-day. To-day the change in
our lives here has come at last!

"Armadale presented himself this morning, in his noisiest high spirits,
to announce that the yacht was ready for sea, and to ask when Midwinter
would be able to go on board. I told him to make the inquiry himself in
Midwinter's room. He left me, with a last request that I would consider
my refusal to sail with him. I answered by a last apology for persisting
in my resolution, and then took a chair alone at the window to wait the
event of the interview in the next room.

"My whole future depended now on what passed between Midwinter and his
friend! Everything had gone smoothly up to this time. The one danger to
dread was the danger of Midwinter's resolution, or rather of Midwinter's
fatalism, giving way at the last moment. If he allowed himself to
be persuaded into accompanying Armadale on the cruise, Manuel's
exasperation against me would hesitate at nothing--he would remember
that I had answered to him for Armadale's sailing from Naples alone; and
he would be capable of exposing my whole past life to Midwinter before
the vessel left the port. As I thought of this, and as the slow minutes
followed each other, and nothing reached my ears but the hum of voices
in the next room, my suspense became almost unendurable. It was vain
to try and fix my attention on what was going on in the street. I sat
looking mechanically out of the window, and seeing nothing.

"Suddenly--I can't say in how long or how short a time--the hum of
voices ceased; the door opened; and Armadale showed himself on the
threshold, alone.

"'I wish you good-by,' he said, roughly. 'And I hop