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Howdidwecometogososoon？”
“Well，we’llhavetohaveatalkoverallthis。”saidJimwithasuddenstart。“Ishouldbegettingtomybooks；andIguessyouhadbettergouprightawaytoMamie。She’satSpeedy’s。Sheexpectsyouwithimpatience。Sheregardsyouinthelightofafavouritebrother，Loudon。”
Anyschemewaswelcomewhichallowedmetopostponethehourofexplanation，andavoid(wereitonlyforabreathingspace)thetopicoftheFlyingScud。IhastenedaccordinglytoBushStreet。Mrs。Speedy，alreadyrejoicinginthereturnofaspouse，hailedmewithacclamation。“Andit’sbeautifulyou’relooking，Mr。Dodd，mydear。”shewaskindenoughtosay。
“Andamiracletheynaygurwaheeniesletyelavetheoilands。I
havemysuspicionsofShpeedy。”sheadded，roguishly。“Didyeseehimafterthenaygressesnow？”
IgaveSpeedyanunblemishedcharacter。
“Theoneofyewillniverbethraytheother。”saidtheplayfuldame，andusheredmeintoabareroom，whereMamiesatworkingatype-writer。
Iwastouchedbythecordialityofhergreeting。Withtheprettiestgestureintheworldshegavemebothherhands；
wheeledforthachair；andproduced，fromacupboard，atinofmyfavouritetobacco，andabookofmyexclusivecigarettepapers。
“There！”shecried；“yousee，Mr。Loudon，wewereallpreparedforyou；thethingswereboughttheverydayyousailed。”
Iimaginedshehadalwaysintendedmeapleasantwelcome；
butthecertainfervourofsincerity，whichIcouldnothelpremarking，flowedfromanunexpectedsource。CaptainNares，withakindnessforwhichIcanneverbesufficientlygrateful，hadstolenamomentfromhisoccupations，driventocallonMamie，anddrawnheragenerouspictureofmyprowessatthewreck。Shewascarefulnottobreatheawordofthisinterview，tillshehadledmeontotellmyadventuresformyself。
“Ah！CaptainNareswasbetter。”shecried，whenIhaddone。
“Fromyouraccount，Ihaveonlylearnedonenewthing，thatyouaremodestaswellasbrave。”
IcannottellwithwhatsortofdisclamationIsoughttoreply。
“Itisofnouse。”saidMamie。“Iknowahero。AndwhenI
heardofyouworkingalldaylikeacommonlabourer，withyourhandsbleedingandyournailsbroken——andhowyoutoldthecaptainto’crackon’(Ithinkhesaid)inthestorm，whenhewasterrifiedhimself——andthedangerofthathorridmutiny“——
(Nareshadbeenobliginglydippinghisbrushinearthquakeandeclipse)——“andhowitwasalldone，inpartatleast，forJimandme——Ifeltwecouldneversayhowweadmiredandthankedyou。”
“Mamie。”Icried，“don’ttalkofthanks；itisnotawordtobeusedbetweenfriends。JimandIhavebeenprosperoustogether；nowweshallbepoortogether。We’vedoneourbest，andthat’sallthatneedbesaid。Thenextthingisformetofindasituation，andsendyouandJimupcountryforalongholidayintheredwoods——foraholidayJimhasgottohave。”
“Jimcan’ttakeyourmoney，Mr。Loudon。”saidMamie。
“Jim？”criedI。“He’sgotto。Didn’tItakehis？”
Presentlyafter，Jimhimselfarrived，andbeforehehadyetdonemoppinghisbrow，hewasatmewiththeaccursedsubject。
“Now，Loudon。”saidhe，“herewearealltogether，theday’sworkdoneandtheeveningbeforeus；juststartinwiththewholestory。”
“Onewordonbusinessfirst。”saidI，speakingfromthelipsoutward，andmeanwhile(intheprivateapartmentsofmybrain)tryingforthethousandthtimetofindsomeplausiblearrangementofmystory。“Iwanttohaveanotionhowwestandaboutthebankruptcy。”
“O，that’sancienthistory。”criedJim。“Wepaidsevencents，andawonderwedidaswell。Thereceiver——“(methoughtaspasmseizedhima
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