“Ifyouwouldleaveyouraddress，“continuedtheofficialwithpersistentpoliteness，“wecouldadviseyouofanylaterdeposittoyourcredit。“
“Itishardlynecessary，“returnedtheyounglady。“Ishouldlearnitmyself，andcallagain。Thankyou。Good-morning。“Andsettlingherveiloverherface，shequietlypassedout。
ThepainandindignationwithwhichRandolphoverheardthiscolloquyhecouldwiththegreatestdifficultyconceal。ForonewildmomenthehadthoughtofcallingherbackwhilehemadeapersonalappealtoRevelstoke；buttheconvictionborneinuponhimbyherresolutebearingthatshewouldrefuseit，andhewouldonlylayhimselfopentoanotherrebuff，heldhimtohisseat。Yethecouldnotentirelyrepresshisyouthfulindignation。
“WhereIcomefrom，“hesaidinanaudiblevoicetohisneighbor，“ayoungladylikethatwouldhavebeensparedthispublicdisappointment。Adozenmenwouldhavemadeupthatsumandlethergowithoutknowinganythingaboutheraccountbeingoverdrawn。“
Andhereallybelievedit。
“Nice，comf’ablewayofdoingbankingbusinessinDutchFlat，“
returnedthecynic。“AndIsupposeyou’dhavekeptitupeverymonth？Ratheratallpricetopayforlookingataprettygirlonceamonth！ButIsupposethey’rescarceruptherethanhere。
Allthesame，itain’ttoolatenow。Startupyoursubscriptionrighthere，sonny，andwe’llallanteup。“
ButRandolph，whoseldomfollowedhisheroicstotheirultimateprosaicconclusions，regrettedhehadspoken，althoughstillunconvinced。Happilyforhistemper，hedidnothearthecommentofthetwotellers。
“Won’tseeHERagain，oldboy，“saidone。
“Ireckonnot，“returnedtheother，“nowthatshe’sbeenchuckedbyherfancyman——untilshegetsanother。Butcheerup；agirllikethatwon’twantfriendslong。“
Itisnotprobablethateitheroftheseyounggentlemenbelievedwhattheysaid，orwouldhavebeenpersonallydisrespectfulorunciviltoanywoman；theywerefairlydecentyoungfellows，buttherigorsofbusinessdemandedthisappearanceofworldlywisdombetweenthemselves。Meantime，foraweekafter，Randolphindulgedinwildfanciesoftakinghisbenefactor’scapitalofseventydollars，addingthirtytoitfromhisownhard-earnedsavings，buyingadraftwithitfromthebankforonehundreddollars，andinsomemysteriouswaygettingittoMissAvondaleasthedelayedremittance。
Thebriefwetwinterwasnearlyspent；thelongdryseasonwasdue，althoughtherewasstilltherarebeautyofcloudsceneryinthesteel-bluesky，andthesuddenreturnofquickbuttransientshowers。ItwasonaSundayofweatherlikethisthatthenature-
lovingRandolphextendedhisusualholidayexcursionasfarasContraCostabythesteamerafterhisdutifulroundofthewharvesandshipping。Itwaswithagayetybornequallyofhisyouthandtheweatherthatheovercamehisconstitutionalshyness，andnotonlymingledwithoutrestraintamongthepleasure-seekersthatthrongedthecrowdedboat，but，intheconsciousnessofhisgoodlooksandanewsuitofclothes，evenpenetratedintothearistocraticseclusionofthe“ladies’cabin“——sacredtothefairsexandtheirattendantswainsorchaperones。
Buthefoundeveryseatoccupied，andwasturningaway，whenhesuddenlyrecognizedMissAvondalesittingbesideherlittleescort。
Sheappeared，however，inasomewhatconstrainedattitude，sustainingwithonehandtheboy，whohadclamberedontheseat。
Hewaslookingoutofthecabinwindow，whichshewasalsotryingtodo，withgreaterdifficultyonaccountofherposition。Hecouldseeherprofilepresentedwithsuchmarkedpersistencythathewassatisfiedshehadseenhimandwasavoidinghim。Heturnedandleftthecabin。
Yet，onceonthedeckagain，herepentedhishaste。Perhapsshehadnotactuallyrecognizedhim；perhapsshewishedtoavoidhimonlybecauseshewasinplainerclothes——acircumstancethat，withhisknowledgeofherchangedfortunes，struckhimtotheheart。Itseemedtohimthatevenasahumbleemployeeofthebankhewasinsomewayresponsibleforit，andwonderedifsheassociatedhimwithherhumiliation。Helongedtospeakwithherandassureherofhissympathy，andyethewasequallyconsciousthatshewouldrejectit。
WhentheboatreachedtheAlamedawharfsheslippedawaywiththeotherpassengers。Hewanderedaboutthehotelgardenandthemainstreetinthehopeofmeetingheragain，althoughhewasinstinctivelyconsciousthatshewouldnotfollowthelinesoftheusualSundaysight-seers，buthadherowndestination。HepenetratedthedepthsoftheAlameda，andlosthimselfamongitslow，trailingoaks，tonopurpose。Thehopeofthemorninghaddiedwithinhim；thefireofadventurewasquenched，andwhenthecloudsgatheredwitharisingwindhefeltthatthepromiseofthatdaywasgone。Heturnedtogobacktotheferry，butonconsultinghiswatchhefoundthathehadalreadylostsomuchtimeinhisdeviouswanderingsthathemustruntocatchthelastboat。Thefewdropsthatspatteredthroughthetreespresentlyincreasedtoashower；heputuphisumbrellawithoutlesseninghisspeed，andfinallydashedintothemainstreetasthelastbellwasringing。
Butatthesamemomentaslight，gracefulfigureslippedoutofthewoodsjustaheadofhim，withnootherprotectionfromthepeltingstormthanahandkerchieftiedoverherhat，andranasswiftlytowardthewharf。ItneededonlyoneglanceforRandolphtorecognizeMissAvondale。Themomenthadcome，theopportunitywashere，andthenextinstanthewaspantingatherside，withtheumbrellaoverherhead。
Thegirlliftedherheadquickly，gaveaswiftlookofrecognition，abriefsmileofgratitude，andcontinuedherpace。Shehadnottakenhisarm，buthadgraspedthehandleoftheumbrella，whichlinkedthemtogether。Notawordwasspoken。Twopeoplecannotbeconversationalorsentimentalflyingatthetopoftheirspeedbeneathasingleumbrella，withacrowdofimpatientpassengerswatchingandwaitingforthem。AndIgrievetosaythat，beingahappyAmericancrowd，therewassomeirreverenthumor。“Goit，sis！He’sgainin’onyou！““Keepitup！““Steady，sonny！Don’tprance！““Nofancylicks！Youwerenearlyoverthetracesthattime！““Keepuptothepole！“i。e。theumbrella。“Don’tcrowdheroffthetrack！Justswingontogether；you’lldoit。“
Randolphhadglancedquicklyathiscompanion。Shewaslaughing，yetlookingathimshylyasifwonderinghowHEwastakingit。Thepaddlewheelswerebeginningtorevolve。Anotherrush，andtheywereonboardastheplankwasdrawnin。
Buttheywereonlyontheedgeofapackedandseethingcrowd。
Randolphmanaged，however，toforceawayforhertoanangleofthepaddlebox，wheretheywerecomparativelyalonealthoughstillexposedtotherain。Sherecognizedtheirenforcedcompanionshipbydroppinghergraspoftheumbrella，whichshehadhithertobeenholdingoverhimwithasingularkindofmaturesuperiorityverylike——asRandolphfelt——hermannertotheboy。
“Youhaveleftyourlittlefriend？“hesaid，graspingattheideaforaconversationalopening。
“Mylittlecousin？Yes，“shesaid。“Ilefthimwithfriends。I
couldnotbeartomakehimrunanyriskinthisweather。But，“shehesitatedhalfapologetically，halfmischievously，“perhapsI
hurriedyou。“
“Oh，no，“saidRandolphquickly。“Thisisthelastboat，andI
mustbeatthebankto-morrowmorningatnine。“
“AndImustbeattheshopateight，“shesaid。Shedidnotspeakbitterlyorpointedly，noryetwiththeentirefamiliarityofcustom。Henoticedthatherdresswasindeedplainer，andyetsheseemedquiteconcernedoverthewater-soakedstateofthatcheapthinsilkpelerineandmerinoskirt。Abiglumpwasinhisthroat。
“Doyouknow，“hesaiddesperately，yettryingtolaugh，“thatthisisnotthefirsttimeyouhaveseenmedripping？“
“Yes，“shereturned，lookingathiminterestedly；“itwasoutsideofthedruggist’sinMontgomeryStreet，aboutfourmonthsago。Youwerewettertheneventhanyouarenow。“
“Iwashungry，friendless，andpenniless，MissAvondale。“Hehadspokenthusabruptlyinthefainthopethattherevelationmightequalizetheirpresentcondition；butsomehowhisconfession，nowthatitwasuttered，seemedexceedinglyweakandimpotent。Thenheblunderedinadifferentdirection。“YoureyesweretheonlykindonesIhadseensinceIlanded。“Heflushedalittle，feelinghimselfoninsecureground，andendeddesperately:“Why，whenI
leftyou，Ithoughtofcommittingsuicide。“
“Oh，dear，notsobadasthat，Ihope！“shesaidquickly，smilingkindly，yetwithacertainairofmaturetoleration，asifshewereaddressingherlittlecousin。“Youonlyfanciedit。Anditisn’tverycomplimentarytomyeyesiftheirkindnessdroveyoutosuchhorridthoughts。Andthenwhathappened？“shepursuedsmilingly。
“Ihadajobtocarryaman’sbag，anditgotmeanight’slodgingandameal，“saidRandolph，almostbrusquely，feelingtheuttercollapseofhisstory。
“Andthen？“shesaidencouragingly。
“Igotasituationatthebank。“
“When？“
“Thenextday，“falteredRandolph，expectingtohearherlaugh。
ButMissAvondaleheavedthefaintestsigh。
“Youareverylucky，“shesaid。
“Notsovery，“returnedRandolphquickly，“forthenexttimeyousawmeyoucutmedead。“
“IbelieveIdid，“shesaidsmilingly。
“Wouldyoumindtellingmewhy？“
“Areyousureyouwon’tbeangry？“
“Imaybepained，“saidRandolphprudently。