patch of
colour on either cheek, a courageous spark in either eye, and wrath in
every gesture and in every line of her slim figure.

'Is this true?' she said. 'Do you mean to tell me that my friendship with
Mr. Done has been the subject of the usual idle chatter here, day and
night?'

'What could you expect, my dear?'

'That I have been criticised and scandalized and spied upon?'

'But with the nicest feelings and the best wishes. What else was there to
interest anyone? I thought you understood. It was so romantic and
delightful, and we were all so pleased to find him taking a real interest
in you. The people quite expect you to become engaged, you know. It would
be a most delightful ending, would it not?'

'It is a shame--a great shame!' cried Lucy. These people have no decency.
I will tell you this, Mrs. Macdougal that no word of what you speak of
has passed between Mr. Done and me.'

Mrs. Macdougal was quite grieved. 'The passengers will be disappointed
she said. 'I'm afraid they won't think it quite nice of you. You see,
these things are expected to end prettily. It's customary.'

It's very absurd and very mean.'

Mrs. Macdougal shook her head ominously. The thought of the chagrin of
the cabins, deprived of a satisfactory climax to their little romance,
filled her with gravest apprehension. Her strong belief was that Done and
Lucy owed it as a sacred duty to the eternal verities, as set forth in
popular fiction, to marry. If they failed to conform, they gave people
good grounds for a grievance.

Lucy Woodrow's spirit was up in arms. The girl who had feared nothing so
much as to find herself at variance with her fellows, and had believed
the affection and the goodwill of those about her to be the first
essentials to happiness, felt no weakness, no lack of self-reliance, now
that she was in some measure pitted against the many. She resented the
conduct of the passengers in making her the subject of their
tittle-tattle with a bitterness she had never felt before. In overlooking
her actions and assuming a right to influence her in a purely personal
matter, these people were guilty of an insolence to which she would not
submit. She thought she discovered a certain antagonism amongst those
with whom she presently came into contact, and the opposition developed
character. Pride came to her aid. No doubt some peeping Tom or prying
woman had been witness to the theft of kisses. In that case the incident
would now