“My God!� she burst out, “why didn’t you stay away a little longer and I had done it? You villain, you vile, low—�
But at that I found voice again, for I was getting angry myself, my temper naturally being none the sweetest, save ordinarily when she was concerned.
“Hear me,� I interrupted in turn.
“Not a word,� she said imperiously.
“But indeed you must,� I persisted almost roughly, stepping within her cabin and carefully closing the door after me. “It is your welfare alone that I seek. I think you should have known that.�
“After the insult on the quarter-deck last evening?� she asked cuttingly.
Now I confess I had forgot that small affair in the graver matters that ensued.
“Never mind that,� I began most unwisely.
“Never mind it!� she cried, her face flaming, “I shall never forget your insolence as long as I live.�
“Madam,� said I, controlling myself again but with added difficulty, “our concern is not with kisses but with—�