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"Oh! You do know," said Mrs Fyne after a pause "Well--I felt myself

very much abandoned Then his choice of life--so extraordinary, so

unfortunate, I rieved I should have liked

hiuished--or at any rate to remain in the social

sphere where we could have had cohts

Don't think that I aed from him But the precise truth is that

I do not know him I was most painfully affected when he was here by the

difficulty of finding a single topic we could discuss together"

While Mrs Fyne was talking of her brother I let hts wander out

of the roo me alone with his wife had, so

to speak, entrusted his domestic peace to my honour

"Well, then, Mrs Fyne, does it not strike you that it would be

reasonable under the circumstances to let your brother take care of

hirounds to think that he can't take care of hiiven instance" She hesitated in a funny, bashful manner which

roused my interest Then: "Sailors I believe are very susceptible," she added with forced

assurance

I burst into a laugh which only increased the coldness of her observing