Boardmanwasoneofthosewhoseldomlaugh;buthisgrinexpressedallthemaliciousenjoymenthefelt。HesaidnothingintheimpressivesilencewhichMaveringletfollowatthispoint。
“Oh，youthinkitwasfunny？”criedMavering。“Ithoughtitwasfunnytoo;butAliceherselfopenedmyeyestowhatI’ddone，andIalwaysintendedtomakeitallrightwiththemwhenIgotthechance。Isupposedshewishedmetoo。”
Boardmangrinnedafresh。
“ShetoldmeImust;thoughsheseemedtodislikemyhavingbeenwiththemthedayaftershe’dthrownmeover。Butif“——Maveringinterruptedhimselftosay，asthegrinwidenedonBoardman’sface——“ifyouthinkitwasanycaseofvulgarjealousy，you’reverymuchmistaken，Boardman。Sheisn’tcapableofit，andshewassomagnanimousaboutitthatImadeupmymindtodoallIcouldtoretrievemyself。Ifeltthatitwasmydutytoher。
Well，lastnightatMrs。JimBellingham’sreception——“