as the scruples of each brute were successively overcome, she helped to
give some grotesque interpretation to the various scenes of the
melodrama, while Mr. Arbuton stood beside her, and sheltered her with
his umbrella; and a spice of malice in her heart told her that he viewed
this drolling, and especially her part in it, with grave misgiving. That
gave the zest of transgression to her excess, mixed with dismay; for the
tricksy spirit in her was not a domineering spirit, but was easily
abashed by the moods of others. She ought not to have laughed at Dick's
speeches, she soon told herself, much less helped him on. She dreadfully
feared that she had done something indecorous, and she was pensive and
silent over it as she moved listlessly about after supper; and she sat
at last thinking in a dreary sort of perplexity on what had passed
during the day, which seemed a long one.

The shabby Englishman with his wife and sister were walking up and down
the cabin. By and by they stopped, and sat down at the table facing
Kitty; the elder woman, with a civil freedom, addressed her some
commonplace, and the four were presently in lively talk; for Kitty had
beamed upon the woman in return, having already longed to know something
of them. The world was so fresh to her, that she could find delight in
those poor singing or acting folk, though she had soon to own to herself
that their talk was not very witty nor very wise, and that the best
thing about them was their good-nature. The colonel sat at the end of
the table with a newspaper; Mrs. Ellison had gone to bed; and Kitty was
beginning to tire of her new acquaintance, and to wonder how she could
get away from them, when she saw rescue in the eye of Mr. Arbuton as he
came down to the cabin. She knew he was looking for her; she saw him
check himself with a start of recognition; then he walked rapidly by the
group, without glancing at them.