"Oh," she broke out indignantly, "I'm not thinking—now—of what I might have to do without. Still, I suppose it was only natural that you should suspect it."
The man's gesture seemed to imply that this was after all a matter of minor importance, and it jarred on her.
"Well," he answered, "I guess I can weather the trouble, though it will mean a long, stiff pull and a general whittling down of expenses. I spent most of last night figuring on the latter, and I've got my plans worked out, though it was troublesome to see where I was to begin."
Florence's heart smote her. Her allowance was a liberal one, but she knew it would only be when every other expedient had failed that he would think of touching that. It would have been a relief to tell him he could begin with it, but she remembered Nevis's loan. The thought of that loan was becoming a burden, and she felt that it must be wiped off somehow at any cost.
"Yes," she sympathized, "it must have been difficult. You don't spend much money unnecessarily, Elcot."
He did not answer, and she glanced at his hands, which were hard and roughened like those of a workman. There was an untended red gash which the fence had made across the back of one. Another glance at his clothing carried her a little farther along the same line of thought, for his garments were old and shabby and faded by the weather.
"Anyway," he said, apparently without having heeded her last observation, "I'm thankful I have no debts just now."
It was an unconscious thrust, but Florence winced, for it wounded her, and she began to see how Nevis had with deliberate purpose strengthened the barrier between her and her husband. What was more, she determined that the man should regret it. Why she had ever encouraged him she did not know, but there was no doubt that she was anxious to get rid of him now. She would have made an open confession about the loan then and there, but the time was singularly inopportune. It was out of the question that she should add to her husband's anxiety.
"After all, it doesn't often hail," she encouraged him. "Another good year will set you straight again."
The man seemed lost in thought, but he looked up when she spoke.