"Oh, Denis!"
"And it was then you made me promise to send it back to you if ever—— Oh, what a fool I was!"
"It was my doing—all. You didn't want to promise; it vexed you and hurt you, and it was all my fault."
"But I promised, and I was overheard, by the villain who is gone," said Denis. "He was in my cousin's cabin at the time, for I distinctly remember seeing him there as we went on deck. And he repeated every syllable to a ten times greater villain than himself, who is alive to answer for his crime!" and he ground his teeth, little dreaming that he had done the living criminal a double injustice in one breath.
"I am not sure that he is alive," faltered Nan, above her breath, but that was all.
"You are not sure?"
"I have not seen him since our wedding day!"
Denis was dumfoundered, but enlightened.
"So you found out just too late," he groaned.
"Yes; and the hard part was that I might have found out in time," she said sadly but only sadly, as if telling of some other person. "There were such a lot of letters for me that morning," she went on, "and there was so little time. I didn't even look at them; I said I would read them in the train; but after all I looked through the envelopes as they were dressing me to go away."