"The doubloons?" she asked mischievously. "Dear me! I can hardly imagine you in a humble role. To see the confident Mr. Drew in such a mood would certainly be refreshing."
"Don't call me Mr. Drew," he protested. "It sounds so formal. We're going to be so like one big family on this ship for the next few weeks that it seems to me we might cut out some of the formality without hurting anything."
"What shall I call you then?" she asked demurely.
"There are lots of things that I should like to have you call me if I dared suggest them," he replied. "But for the present, suppose you call me Allen."
"Very well, then—Allen," she conceded.
His pulses leaped.
"I don't suppose I'd dare go further and beg permission to call you Ruth?" he hazarded.
"Make it Miss Ruth," she teased.
"No, Ruth," he persisted.
"Oh, well," she yielded, "I suppose you'll have to have it your own way. It's frightful to have to deal with such an obstinate man as you are, Mr.—Allen."