ct, as in many others, and he is
most respectful and gentle in his manners. As for his kindness to my
mother and myself, we could not shut our eyes to it. Here is the
latest instance of it, although I feel deeply ashamed to tell you the
story. We were returning in a small boat, and I was carelessly letting
my hand drag through the water, when somehow the ring you gave me
dropped off. Of course, we all considered it lost--all except Mr.
Trelyon, who took the trouble to go at once all the way to Plymouth
for a dredging-machine, and the following afternoon I was overjoyed to
find him return with the lost ring, which I had scarcely dared hope to
see again. How many gentlemen would have done so much for a mere
acquaintance? I am sure if you had been here you would have been
ashamed of me if I had not been grateful to him. Now, however, since
you appear to attach importance to these idle rumors, I have asked Mr.
Trelyon--"

So the letter went on. She would not have written so calmly if she had
foreseen the passion which her ingenuous story about the
dredging-machine was destined to arouse. When Mr. Roscorla read that
simple narrative, he first stared with astonishment as though she were
making some foolish joke. Directly he saw she was serious, however,
his rage and mortification were indescribable. Here was this young
man, not content with hanging about the girl so that neighbors talked,
but actually imposing on her credulity, and making a jest of that
engaged ring which ought to have been sacred to her. Mr. Roscorla at
once saw through the whole affair--the trip to Plymouth, the
purchasing of a gypsy-ring that could have been matched a dozen times
over anywhere, the return to Penzance with a cock-and-bull story about
a dredging-machine. So hot was his anger that it overcame his
prudence. He would start for England at once. He had taken no such
resolution when he heard from the friendly and communicative Mr.
Barnes that Mr. Trelyon's conduct with regard to Wenna was causing
scandal, but this making a fool of him in his absence he could not
bear. At any cost he would set out for England, arrange matters more
to his satisfaction by recalling Wenna to a sense of her position; and
then he would return to Jamaica. His affairs there were already
promising so well that he could afford the trip.

Meanwhile, Wenna had just finished her letter when Mr. Trelyon drove
up with the carriage, and shortly afterward came into the room. He