He felt confused, as well he might, but he tried to pass it off.
"Did you find Dibbs On Currency, my dear?" he inquired, with a ghastly smile, as he dropped her hand.
"I did not," said Sophia, gravely; "I was otherwise engaged. Peter, what have you been doing?"
"What have I been doing?" he said. "Why, it's not a minute since you went into the study to get that book; look at the clock and see!"
"Don't appeal to the clock, Peter,—answer my question. How have you been occupied?"
"I've been waiting for you to finish that article on Bi-metallism," he had the hardihood to say. "Deuced well-written article it is, too; so clear!"
"I don't refer to what you were doing here," said Sophia. "What were you doing on board the Boomerang?"
"It—it's so long ago that I really forget," he said. "I—I read Buckle on deck, and I talked with a man named Perkins—nice fellow he was—manager of a bank out in Australia."
"It's useless to prevaricate, Peter!" she said. "What I want to know is, who was that girl, and why should she attempt to destroy herself?"
He could hardly believe his ears.