"I've told you so much——" "And so little!" he added mentally.
"You said that you had been unlucky, that you had lost a great deal of money lately," she said, in a low voice.
He nodded.
"Yes; I think I did. It's true unfortunately; but it doesn't much matter."
"Does it not?" she asked. "Why did you give mamma so costly a present? Oh, please don't deny it. I don't know very much about diamonds, but I know that that bracelet must have cost a great deal of money."
"Not really," he said, with affected carelessness. "Diamonds are very cheap now; they find 'em by the bucketful in the Cape, you know."
She looked at him with grave reproach.
"You are trying to belittle it," she said; "but, indeed, I am not deceived. And the gun, too! That must have been very expensive. Why—did you spend so much?"
He began to feel irritated.
"Look here, Miss Nell," he said; "it is true that I have lost some money, but I'm not quite a pauper, and, if I were, the least I could do would be to share my last crust with—with your people for their amazing goodness to me."