’It’sthesignaloftheCrossKeysLinerunningtoAustraliaI
　　wonderwhichsteameritis。’Thenoteofhisvoicehadchanged；heseemedtobetalkingtohimself，andMaisiedidnotapproveofitThemoonlightbrokethehazeforamoment，touchingtheblacksidesofalongsteamerworkingdownChannel’Fourmastsandthreefunnels——she’sindeepdraught，tooThatmustbetheBarralong，ortheBhutiaNo，theBhutiahasaclopperbowIt’stheBarralong，toAustraliaShe’lllifttheSouthernCrossinaweek，——luckyoldtub！——oh，luckyoldtub！’
　　Hestaredintently，andmoveduptheslopeoftheforttogetabetterview，butthemistontheseathickenedagain，andthebeatingofthescrewsgrewfainterMaisiecalledtohimalittleangrily，andhereturned，stillkeepinghiseyestoseaward’HaveyoueverseentheSouthernCrossblazingrightoveryourhead？’heasked’It’ssuperb！’
　　’No，’shesaidshortly，’andIdon’twanttoIfyouthinkit’ssolovely，whydon’tyougoandseeityourself？’
　　Sheraisedherfacefromthesoftblacknessofthemartenskinsaboutherthroat，andhereyesshonelikediamondsThemoonlightonthegraykangaroofurturnedittofrostedsilverofthecoldest。
　　’ByJove，Maisie，youlooklikealittleheathenidoltuckedupthere。’Theeyesshowedthattheydidnotappreciatethecompliment’I’msorry，’hecontinued’TheSouthernCrossisn’tworthlookingatunlesssomeonehelpsyoutoseeThatsteamer’soutofhearing。’
　　’Dick，’shesaidquietly，’supposeIweretocometoyounow，——bequietaminute，——justasIam，andcaringforyoujustasmuchasIdo。’
　　’Notasabrother，thoughYousaidyoudidn’t——inthePark。’
　　’IneverhadabrotherSupposeIsaid，“Takemetothoseplaces，andintime，perhaps，Imightreallycareforyou。”whatwouldyoudo？’
　　’Sendyoustraightbacktowhereyoucamefrom，inacabNo，I
　　wouldn’t；I’dletyouwalkButyoucouldn’tdoit，dearAndI
　　wouldn’truntheriskYou’reworthwaitingfortillyoucancomewithoutreservation。’
　　’Doyouhonestlybelievethat？’
　　’IhaveahazysortofideathatIdoHasitneverstruckyouinthatlight？’
　　’Ye——esIfeelsowickedaboutit。’
　　’Wickederthanusual？’
　　’Youdon’tknowallIthinkIt’salmosttooawfultotell。’
　　’NevermindYoupromisedtotellmethetruth——atleast。’
　　’It’ssoungratefulofme，but——but，thoughIknowyoucareforme，andI
　　liketohaveyouwithme，I’d——I’devensacrificeyou，ifthatwouldbringmewhatIwant。’
　　’Mypoorlittledarling！IknowthatstateofmindItdoesn’tleadtogoodwork。’
　　’Youaren’tangry？Remember，Idodespisemyself。’
　　’I’mnotexactlyflattered，——Ihadguessedasmuchbefore，——butI’mnotangryI’msorryforyouSurelyyououghttohaveleftalittlenesslikethatbehindyou，yearsago。’
　　’You’venorighttopatroniseme！IonlywantwhatIhaveworkedforsolongItcametoyouwithoutanytrouble，and——andIdon’tthinkit’sfair。’
　　’WhatcanIdo？I’dgivetenyearsofmylifetogetyouwhatyouwant。
　　ButIcan’thelpyou；evenIcan’thelp。’
　　AmurmurofdissentfromMaisieHewenton——
　　’AndIknowbywhatyouhavejustsaidthatyou’reonthewrongroadtosuccessItisn’tgotatbysacrificingotherpeople，——I’vehadthatmuchknockedintome；youmustsacrificeyourself，andliveunderorders，andneverthinkforyourself，andneverhaverealsatisfactioninyourworkexceptjustatthebeginning，whenyou’rereachingoutafteranotion。’
　　’Howcanyoubelieveallthat？’
　　’There’snoquestionofbeliefordisbeliefThat’sthelaw，andyoutakeitorrefuseitasyoupleaseItrytoobey，butIcan’t，andthenmyworkturnsbadonmyhandsUnderanycircumstances，remember，four-fifthsofeverybody’sworkmustbebadButtheremnantisworththetroubleforit’sownsake。’
　　’Isn’titnicetogetcreditevenforbadwork？’
　　’It’smuchtooniceBut——MayItellyousomething？Itisn’taprettytale，butyou’resolikeamanthatIforgetwhenI’mtalkingtoyou。’
　　’Tellme。’
　　’OncewhenIwasoutintheSoudanIwentoversomegroundthatwehadbeenfightingonforthreedaysThereweretwelvehundreddead；
　　andwehadn’ttimetoburythem。’
　　’Howghastly！’
　　’Ihadbeenatworkonabigdouble-sheetsketch，andIwaswonderingwhatpeoplewouldthinkofitathomeThesightofthatfieldtaughtmeagooddealItlookedjustlikeabedofhorribletoadstoolsinallcolours，and——I’dneverseenmeninbulkgobacktotheirbeginningsbefore。
　　SoI
　　begantounderstandthatmenandwomenwereonlymaterialtoworkwith，andthatwhattheysaidordidwasofnoconsequenceSee？
　　Strictlyspeaking，youmightjustaswellputyoureardowntothepalettetocatchwhatyourcoloursaresaying。’
　　’Dick，that’sdisgraceful！’
　　’WaitaminuteIsaid，strictlyspeakingUnfortunately，everybodymustbeeitheramanorawoman。’
　　’I’mgladyouallowthatmuch。’
　　’InyourcaseIdon’tYouaren’tawomanButordinarypeople，Maisie，mustbehaveandworkassuchThat’swhatmakesmesosavage。’
　　Hehurledapebbletowardstheseaashespoke’Iknowthatitisoutsidemybusinesstocarewhatpeoplesay；IcanseethatitspoilsmyoutputifI
　　listento’em；andyet，confounditall，’——anotherpebbleflewseaward，——’I
　　can’thelppurringwhenI’mrubbedtherightwayEvenwhenIcanseeonaman’sforeheadthatheislyinghiswaythroughaclumpofprettyspeeches，thoseliesmakemehappyandplaythemischiefwithmyhand。’
　　’Andwhenhedoesn’tsayprettythings？’
　　’Then，belovedest，’——Dickgrinned，——’IforgetthatIamthestewardofthesegifts，andIwanttomakethatmanloveandappreciatemyworkwithathickstickIt’stoohumiliatingaltogether；butIsupposeevenifonewereanangelandpaintedhumansaltogetherfromoutside，onewouldloseintouchwhatonegainedingrip。’
　　MaisielaughedattheideaofDickasanangel。
　　’Butyouseemtothink，’shesaid，’thateverythingnicespoilsyourhand。’
　　’Idon’tthinkIt’sthelaw，——justthesameasitwasatMrsJennett’s。
　　EverythingthatisnicedoesspoilyourhandI’mgladyouseesoclearly。’
　　’Idon’tliketheview。’
　　’NorIBut——havegotorders：whatcando？Areyoustrongenoughtofaceitalone？’
　　’IsupposeImust。’
　　’Letmehelp，darlingWecanholdeachotherverytightandtrytowalkstraightWeshallblunderhorribly，butitwillbebetterthanstumblingapartMaisie，can’tyouseereason？’
　　’Idon’tthinkweshouldgetontogetherWeshouldbetwoofatrade，soweshouldneveragree。’
　　’HowIshouldliketomeetthemanwhomadethatproverb！Helivedinacaveandaterawbear，IfancyI’dmakehimchewhisownarrow-heads。
　　Well？’
　　’IshouldbeonlyhalfmarriedtoyouIshouldworryandfussaboutmywork，asIdonowFourdaysoutofthesevenI’mnotfittospeakto。’
　　’Youtalkasifnooneelseintheworldhadeverusedabrush。
　　D’yousupposethatIdon’tknowthefeelingofworryandbotherandcan’t-get-at-ness？You’reluckyifyouonlyhaveitfourdaysoutofthesevenWhatdifferencewouldthatmake？’
　　’Agreatdeal——ifyouhadittoo。’
　　’Yes，butIcouldrespectitAnothermanmightnotHemightlaughatyouButthere’snousetalkingaboutitIfyoucanthinkinthatwayyoucan’tcareforme——yet。’
　　Thetidehadnearlycoveredthemud-banksandtwentylittleripplesbrokeonthebeachbeforeMaisiechosetospeak。
　　’Dick，’shesaidslowly，’IbelieveverymuchthatyouarebetterthanI
　　am。’
　　’Thisdoesn’tseemtobearontheargument——butinwhatway？’
　　’Idon’tquiteknow，butinwhatyousaidaboutworkandthings；
　　andthenyou’resopatientYes，you’rebetterthanIam。’
　　Dickconsideredrapidlythemurkinessofanaverageman’slife。
　　TherewasnothinginthereviewtofillhimwithasenseofvirtueHeliftedthehemofthecloaktohislips。
　　’Why，’saidMaisie，makingasthoughshehadnotnoticed，’canyouseethingsthatIcan’t？Idon’tbelievewhatyoubelieve；butyou’reright，I
　　believe。’
　　’IfI’veseenanything，GodknowsIcouldn’thaveseenitbutforyou，andIknowthatIcouldn’thavesaiditexcepttoyouYouseemedtomakeeverythingclearforaminute；butIdon’tpracticewhatIpreach。
　　YouwouldhelpmeThereareonlyustwointheworldforallpurposes，and——andyouliketohavemewithyou？’
　　’OfcourseIdoIwonderifyoucanrealisehowutterlylonelyI
　　am！’
　　’Darling，IthinkIcan。’
　　’Twoyearsago，whenIfirsttookthelittlehouse，Iusedtowalkupanddowntheback-gardentryingtocryInevercancryCanyou？’
　　’It’ssometimesinceItriedWhatwasthetrouble？Overwork？’
　　’Idon’tknow；butIusedtodreamthatIhadbrokendown，andhadnomoney，andwasstarvinginLondonIthoughtaboutitallday，anditfrightenedme——oh，howitfrightenedme！’
　　’IknowthatfearIt’sthemostterribleofallItwakesmeupinthenightsometimesYououghtn’ttoknowanythingaboutit。’
　　’Howdoyouknow？’
　　’NevermindIsyourthreehundredayearsafe？’
　　’It’sinConsols。’
　　’VerywellIfanyonecomestoyouandrecommendsabetterinvestment，——evenifIshouldcometoyou，——don’tyoulistenNevershiftthemoneyforaminute，andneverlendapennyofit，——eventothered-hairedgirl。’
　　’Don’tscoldmeso！I’mnotlikelytobefoolish。’
　　’Theearthisfullofmenwho’dselltheirsoulsforthreehundredayear；
　　andwomencomeandtalk，andborrowafive-poundnotehereandaten-poundnotethere；andawomanhasnoconscienceinamoneydebt。
　　Sticktoyourmoney，Maisie，forthere’snothingmoreghastlyintheworldthanpovertyinLondonIt’sscaredmeByJove，itputthefearintome！Andoneoughtn’ttobeafraidofanything。’
　　Toeachmanisappointedhisparticulardread，——theterrorthat，ifhedoesnotfightagainstit，mustcowhimeventothelossofhismanhood。
　　Dick’sexperienceofthesordidmiseryofwanthadenteredintothedeepsofhim，and，lesthemightfindvirtuetooeasy，thatmemorystoodbehindhim，temptingtoshame，whendealerscametobuyhiswaresAstheNilghaiquakedagainsthiswillatthestillgreenwaterofalakeoramill-dam，asTorpenhowflinchedbeforeanywhitearmthatcouldcutorstabandloathedhimselfforflinching，DickfearedthepovertyhehadoncetastedhalfinjestHisburdenwasheavierthantheburdensofhiscompanions。
　　Maisiewatchedthefaceworkinginthemoonlight。
　　’You’veplentyofpenniesnow，’shesaidsoothingly。
　　’Ishallneverhaveenough，’hebegan，withviciousemphasisThen，laughing，’Ishallalwaysbethree-penceshortinmyaccounts。’
　　’Whythreepence？’
　　’Icarriedaman’sbagoncefromLiverpoolStreetStationtoBlackfriar’sBridgeItwasasixpennyjob，——youneedn’tlaugh；indeeditwas，——andI
　　wantedthemoneydesperatelyHeonlygavemethreepence；andhehadn’teventhedecencytopayinsilverWhatevermoneyImake，I
　　shallnevergetthatoddthreepenceoutoftheworld。’
　　ThiswasnotlanguagebefittingthemanwhohadpreachedofthesanctityofworkItjarredonMaisie，whopreferredherpaymentinapplause，which，sinceallmendesireit，mustbeofherightShehuntedforherlittlepurseandgravelytookoutathreepennybit。
　　’Thereitis，’shesaid’I’llpayyou，Dickie；anddon’tworryanymore；itisn’tworthwhileAreyoupaid？’
　　’Iam，’saidtheveryhumanapostleoffaircraft，takingthecoin’I’mpaidathousandtimes，andwe’llclosethataccountItshallliveonmywatch-chain；andyou’reanangel，Maisie。’