Pagina 342 de 416

Nat Burns went back to his schooner, squarely defeated for the

first time in his life. Humbled, and cringing like a whipped dog,

he made his dory fast to the Nettie's rail and slunk aft to the

solitude of his cabin. He was glad that even the cook was looking

the other way.

"She has flouted me, and the whole of Grande Mignon will know

it," he said to himself. "Then they will want to know why, but

that is easy enough to lie about. Hang that Mallaby woman! Who

would ever think she'd squeal? Yes, and Schofield, the smug

crook! They're the two that are doin' the damage to me."

Nat's lifelong knowledge of Code's and Nellie's affection

returned to him now with a more poignant pang of memory than he

had ever experienced. With the hopeless egotism of a totally

selfish nature, he laid his calamity in love to activity on

Code's part. He was pretty well aware of Elsa's extravagant

favoritism of Code, and he immediately figured that Code had

enlisted Elsa on his side to the ruin of Nat.