“Yes,” said Jimmy, seizing the opening he had waited for. “We got it all.”
“All!” For a moment Ruth was thrown off her guard by a shock of relief that was poignant in its intensity.
“I believe so,” Jimmy answered. “Anyway, we got every case that was insured. The underwriters seemed perfectly satisfied.”
A wave of color flushed Ruth’s face. She had, it seemed, tormented herself without a cause. Her father, whom she had suspected, was innocent. There was no dark secret attached to the wreck, as she had unjustly thought. Jimmy had banished her fears. The hardships he had borne had bought her release from a haunting dread.
She realized that he might wonder at her agitation, but, after all, this did not count. She was carried away by gratitude to him.
“Thank you for telling me,” she said, feeling the inadequacy of the words. “It makes a thrilling tale.”
“If it has pleased you, I’m content.”
“Pleased me! Well, I can assure you that it has done so.”
“Then I’m rewarded,” said Jimmy boldly, losing his head as he saw the gratitude in her eyes. “That’s all I wanted; finding the gold is less important.”
Ruth saw what was happening; his restraint was breaking down, and she meant to give it the last blow.