If you would let him talk to
you I am sure he would tell you as much as it is possible for him to
disclose."
"I don't want to be told about any of his rascalities. But haven't you
been taken into his confidence?"
"Completely," admitted Mrs. Travers, peering into the small
looking-glass.
"What is the influence you brought to bear upon this man? It looks to me
as if our fate were in your hands."
"Your fate is not in my hands. It is not even in his hands. There is a
moral situation here which must be solved."
"Ethics of blackmail," commented Mr. Travers with unexpected sarcasm. It
flashed through his wife's mind that perhaps she didn't know him so well
as she had supposed. It was as if the polished and solemn crust of hard
proprieties had cracked slightly, here and there, under the strain,
disclosing the mere wrongheadedness of a common mortal. But it was
only manner that had cracked a little; the marvellous stupidity of
his conceit remained the same. She thought that this discussion was
perfectly useless, and as she finished putting up her hair she said: "I
think we had better go on deck now."
"You propose to go out on deck like this?" muttered Mr. Travers with
downcast eyes.
"Like this? Certainly. It's no longer a novelty. Who is going to be
shocked?"
Mr.
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