"Ah, that I'm forbidden to tell. 'If he has forgotten me so easily,' said she—and she seemed really hurt—'I think I can dispense with his further acquaintance.'"
"If I should break through that piffling bodyguard now—"
"If you want some rather high-priced advice for nothing," said the old and mischievous lawyer, "don't do it. You might not be well received."
"Are you in the secret, then?"
"Secret? Is there any secret? A very charming girl who says she knows you finds herself forgotten by you. And you've been maladroit enough to betray the fact. Naturally she is not pleased. Nothing very mysterious in that."
Thereupon the pestered youth retired in distress and dudgeon to his cabin to formulate a campaign.
Progress, however, seemed slow. It was a very discontented Tyro who, after luncheon, betook himself to the spray-soaked weather rail and strove to assuage his impatience by a thoughtful contemplation of the many leagues of ocean still remaining to be traversed. From this consideration he was roused by a clear, low-pitched, and extraordinarily silvery voice at his elbow.
"Aren't you going to speak to me?" it said.
