Dick was leaning against the window-ledge for support. His brain was whirling. He could scarcely believe his ears. There was a tearful tenderness in her voice which he could not, which he dared not understand.
'What do you mean?' he asked hoarsely.
'I mean that—that you—that I——'
The words ended in inarticulate sobs.
'Do you mean that you ask me to stay in England?'
Dick put this question in a voice that was absolutely stern, though it quivered with suppressed agitation. There was no answer: sobs were no answer. He crossed the room unsteadily, fell on his knees at her side, and took both her hands in his. Then he repeated the same question—in the same words, in the same tones.
The answer came in a trembling whisper, with a fresh torrent of tears:
'What if I did?'
'The Rome might sail without me.'
A tearful incredulous smile from Alice.
'Do you tell me to stay? I stay or go at your bidding. Darling! you know what that means to us two?'
No answer.
'Speak! Speak, Alice, for I cannot bear this! The Rome would sail without me!'
Alice did speak. The Rome did sail without him.
Transcriber's Notes:
Inconsistencies in hyphenation were not corrected.In the original book, sometimes the first words of each chapter were in small caps and sometimes they were not. That inconsistency was preserved in this version.On page 8, the quotation mark was deleted after 'on this side of the road.'On page 68, the word 'looee' was replaced with 'cooee'.On page 92, a quotation mark was placed after 'deducted from your allowance this evening.'On page 158, 'not this young follow' was replaced with 'not this young fellow'.On page 168, 'bunshrangers' was replaced with 'bushrangers'.On page 184, a quotation mark was added after 'and the older suitor.'
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