His Other Wife: A Novel — page 205: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

SERPENT AND DOVE. 197 moving vessel. It is like when I crossed the gulf coming from Texas.” He thought it best to soothe her by affecting to think lightly of their mischance. “Yes,” he said, smiling, ‘‘ we are aboard a little coast- ing vessel that picked us up out of the water in a half- drowned condition, where the tide had borne us out to the mouth of the river. Luckily I clung to you so fast that the waves could not take you from me, even after I lost the power of volition.” Faith had turned white, and shivered at the first part of his recital; but at the last sentence, into which he threw a tender meaning that he meant to reach her heart, her cheek flushed hotly, and her lids dropped. She remembered now, with a strange, wild fluttering of the heart, the incident which had immediately preceded - the accident of which she was the direct cause. She said, softly and timidly : : ‘‘ What vessel is it, and where are we going?” ‘‘We are on a Spanish coaster, bound for the West Indies on its return from a cruise along the shore as far up as the Carolinas. But I have induced the captain to put us ashore at the nearest port. I hope to land you safe and sound at Lucerne before many days.” ‘¢ How many?” ‘Ah! well, I cannot say precisely. You know we cannot calculate too certainly upon a sailer, You see, it Eomicbooks: (E(@) 3