"Val," he said, "we have seen hard times together we've roughed it among
strange places and strange people, you know and so on; and I think there
is a friendly kind of feeling between us?"
He held out his poor wasted hand, and Valentine grasped it firmly in his
own with prompt cordiality.
"My dear governor, I have no feeling in my heart that is not friendly to
you."
This was perfectly true.
"And even if I had been inclined to bear any grudge against you on
account of the old days, when, you know, you were a little apt to be
indifferent as to what scrape you left me in, provided you got off
scot-free yourself; if I had been inclined to remember that kind of thing
(which, on my honour, I am not), your daughter's noble courage and
devotion in the time of my dear wife's peril should have stood against
that old wrong. I cannot tell you how deeply I feel her goodness in that
bitter time."
"She is a Paget," murmured the Captain, complacently. "_Noblesse
oblige._"
Valentine could scarcely refrain from a smile as he remembered the many
occasions upon which the obligations of a noble lineage had weighed very
lightly on his aristocratic patron.
"Yes, Val," the Captain resumed, in a dreamy tone, "we have seen many
strange things together. When I began my travels through this world, in
the palmy days of the Regency, I little thought what a weary journey it
was to be, and what queer people I was to encounter among my
fellow-passengers.
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