He was a
chivalrous fellow, and every way a gallant seaman. It is possible, he
was rather more in a hurry than he might have been, but for his
passengers--that is all--at least, I have always suspected that the
wish to have Miss Merton all to himself, induced him to get rid of us
as soon as possible. He evidently admired her, and could have been
jealous of a dead-eye."
"Miss Merton!" exclaimed Grace. "Jealous!"
"Miss Merton!" put in Rupert, leaning forward, curiously.
"Miss Merton! And jealous of dead-eyes, and wishing to get rid of us!"
said Mr. Hardinge, smiling. "Pray who is Miss Merton? and who are the
_us_? and what are the dead-eyes?"
Lucy was silent.
"Why, sir, I thought I wrote you all about the Mertons. How we met
them in London, and then found them prisoners to Monsieur Le Compte;
and that I intended to carry them to Canton, in the Crisis!"
"You told us some of this, certainly; but, though you may have written
'all about' a _Major_ Merton, you _forgot_ to tell us 'about
_all_ the Mertons. This is the first syllable I have ever had
about a _Miss_ Merton. How is it, girls--did Miles speak of any
one but the Major, in his letter?"
"Not a syllable to me, sir, of any young lady, I can assure you,"
replied Grace, laughing. "How was it to you, Lucy?"
"Of course he would not tell me that which he thought fit to conceal
from his own sister," said Lucy, in a low voice.
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