"Oh, was that all?"
"Practically all."
"He told you himself, I suppose, that he wished you to stay here."
"He did more. He drove me away."
"Against your will?"
"No. Am I not one of the ship's company? Is he not the centurion? He
says to this woman, Go, and she goeth, nor does she stand upon the
order of her going. Oh, please don't look at me as if I were cracked.
Surely one may mingle the Bible and Shakespeare in an emergency?"
"One may also tear linen sheets into strips," said Christobal, gravely.
Elsie's quip had saved the situation. He attributed her flushed cheeks
and sparkling eyes to the fever of the threatened fight.
She applied herself eagerly to the task. Already the fume and agony of
vain regret were striving to conquer the ecstasy which had flooded her
whole being. She remembered that passionate longing to be clasped in
Courtenay's arms which she experienced when she saw him in the canoe,
and now, after draining to the dregs the cup of bitterness she had
forced on herself during these later days, here she was, ready as ever
to quaff the love potion.
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