‘Oh, how I wish I had never followed him!’ exclaimed Iris; ‘but what was I to do? He left us (Maggie and me) without money or credit or anything, just to steal or starve as we thought fit. And I was indignant with him, and I knew it was his duty to support me, and so I decided to come too. And now I feel as if I would rather drown than go through what lies before me.’ ‘Don’t think of yourself. Think of Miss Vansittart,’ urged Farrell. ‘It is bitterly unfair that she should be a victim as well as you.’ ‘Yes, I _will_ think of her, poor girl,’ said Iris, ‘and if I am convinced that Godfrey means harm to her--’ ‘Watch them when they think they are unobserved, and you will soon be convinced of it, Miss Douglas. The sailors could tell you some fine stories of their sweethearting on deck after dark. The girl is infatuated with him. And I think his only object is to get her so completely in his power that she shall marry him on landing, whether her parents consent to it or not.’ ‘It shall never go as far as that,’ said Iris, clenching her teeth. ‘Then prevent it going any further now, for the sake of your own dignity, and that of your sex, Miss Douglas. You may think you know Mr Harland’s character thoroughly, but I am sure you are not aware of half of what he is capable. Let me take you to the performance this evening, and I will guarantee you shall not be discovered. You can pretend you have the faceache, and wrap your head up in a veil, and I will place you in a dark corner where you shall see without being seen.’ ‘Yes! I _will_ go,’ replied Iris determinedly. ‘Even if the price were to be instantaneous discovery, I would go.’ ‘And if you find the case to be as I have described it to you?’ ‘If I have self-evident proofs that my husband is deceiving this girl by making love to her, I will go to him at once, and tell him I have discovered his plans, and will circumvent them.’ ‘Bravo! Miss Douglas. That is spoken like a brave woman. I was certain you would eventually decide _that_ to be the only honest course before you. But why are you crying? Surely you do not consider Godfrey Harland to be worthy of your tears?’ ‘Oh, Mr Farrell! you do not understand,’ sobbed Iris. ‘You do not know how hard it is for a woman to come to the conclusion that she has been wasting all her love on an unworthy object. I am not weeping for the loss of _him_. I am weeping for the loss of my self-respect,--of my faith in my fellow-creatures,--my faith in my own judgment and discrimination. I feel so crushed--so humiliated--so ashamed, and as if I never could put trust in anything on earth again.’ ‘Well! I don’t know as it’s wise to do it at any time,’ replied Farrell; ‘but “one swallow doesn’t make a summer.” You should take pattern by Maggie. She seems to have had a rough time of it, poor child, but she’s willing to throw it all behind her back, and try again.’