me along close to the Os

hing that I ca

you," Fra

rtha ca

so s

. The cross-trees had been carried away by the fall of the topmast, and her deck forward

ouple of reefs in the mainsail. She will go well enough under that and

ssed them before the leeward sheet of the foresail was hauled aft, and the Phantom resumed her

his bar would have broken unless there had been a flaw in the metal or it had been tampered with. I unsha

se, it went as soon as she began to dip her bowsprit well into it in the race. You see, whoever has done it has poured some acid into it, and darkened the copper,

week, and the bowsprit would have gone then if this cut had been there. Besides, we s

uld not have been there last week, or it must have gone when she put her nose into it then. In point of fact, I have no doubt that it was done last night or the night before. It could easily have been managed. O

but we should have heard the

I think it my duty to lay the matter before the club committee, and they can do as they like about it. Mind, I don't say for a moment that it was done by anyone on board the Phantom. It may have been someone on shore who had laid a bet of a few pounds against us, and want

led to notice the break in the bar, and the news that there had been foul play had at once been passed round.

ne of those cases in which there is nothing to be done, and we should only make things worse by making a fuss about it. We have no ground whatever for believing that it was the work of one of the Phantom's crew, and it is far more likely that it was the work of some

u and the Phantom's men. They at least have nothing to boast of. They have won the Cup, but we have won the honour. We have shown ourselves the better yacht, and should have beaten them by something like a mile, if it had not been for this accident

, but I shall take no steps in the matter, and it is unlikely in the extreme that we shall ever know who did it. I shall pay you all winning money, for that you did not win was no fault of your

achtsmen came on board to inquire how the disaster had happened. To save going through the story a score of times, Frank had the broke

tells the ta

ndignation at the

ou going to

hand it to the Sailing Committee. That it has been cut is

e to take the Cup under such circumstances, and would offer to sai

shall meet in a race again some day, and then we can fight it out, but for the prese

h a thing had not been known before in the annals of yachting, and the committee ordered a poster to be instantly printe

broken bowsprit and topmast to Cowes, with instructions to Messieurs Whit

indow was lit up, and dancing had begun an hour before. Frank at once obtained a partne

down by the side

aid. "It does seem hard when

ose from an accident, when she had already proved herself to be the best in the race. You know that I never went in for being a racing yachtsman. I look upon racing as

way," she said. "I can assure you that I w

me. Presently Bertha was brought bac

d really cheered me up, for just at the moment I was in an exceedingly bad tempe

dignantly. "You would ha

another day, I hope; and next time I shall win. Still, you know, there is really nothing to grumble at. I have been fortunate alt

f Bertha's came up, and was abou

prey can sail sti

duck, you know, but she

mma and me to take a sail w

til she gets her spars. I don't think that they will be finished before tomorrow evening.

we will come tomor

y to sail in a cripp

ay after tomorrow is Sunday, and that at present our

mile, "by all means come tomorrow. W

ll be down at the club land

as been too much for her. Yesterday and today she has been quite unlike herself; at one time sitting quiet and saying nothing, at other times rattling away with Miss Haverley and Lady Olive, and absolutely talking down both of them, which I should h

if you can get a short time at home no doubt it will do you good. I

e dances, and then went t

ught that I was out of temper at my bad luck, I shall be off. Indeed, I do not feel quite up to entering into

derstand, Frank," she said; "but here she

he repeated what he had said to her mother. "Well, I will give you the next da

ot my card mixed up. Do you mind taking the thirteenth dance

r murmured

ook his arm. "Now, shall we go ou

lovely evening, and there

n, as they went out. "I am disappointed, too. I told you

won, just this once, but all along I felt that the chances were

d, indignantly. "You were beaten by a crime-by a mean, miserable

r supposing that the

ou are an old friend of ours, and you promised me that you would always be my friend. Do you think that it is right to b

silent for

doing. This is just one of the cases when I do not feel justified, as yet, in speaking. Carthew is not my friend, and you know it. If I had had no personal feud-for it has become that with him-I should be more at liberty to speak, but as it is I would rather remain silent. I tell you this now, that you may know, in case I ever do meddle in your affair

one heavy defeat, he does not care

in silence for some time

Frank, that I had better go in ag

nly," h

for some time, as he walked up and down the deck for an hour before turning in. It seemed to him that she might not

ard hit at Ascot, though he gives out that he won. Not that that matters much, but it is never a good lookout for a girl to marry a man who gambles, even though she be rich, and her friends take good care to settle her money u

rently so set her mind on

nd expressed his determination to add another hundred pounds to the reward offered by the club for the discovery of the author of the outrage. The men felt that it was hard on a fellow to win the Cup by the breakdown of an oppon

once with Ber

Carthew, you must be generous in y

said, "but I had hoped to have had an opportunit

hall be at home tomorrow morning, and if you

he servant said, as he enquired for her the next morning.

to say to her, and he had of late felt sure that her answer would be favourable when the question was

t once. "I think that you know how I feel towards you, and

ust ask you to listen to a story. It was told me here two

I cannot say where," he replied, surpri

y, though not the chief actor of the story. The chief actor, I

received a sudden blow. His face

illain. He betrayed the trust, took her away to America and then cast her off, and she went home to die. Her destroyer did not altogether escape punishment. He was attacked and pelted by her f

his infamous lie?" C

n you the answer you wanted, for I own that I liked you. I am sure now that I did not love you, for had I done so, I should not have believed this tale; or if I had believed it, it would have crushed me. But I liked you. I found you pleasanter than other men, and I even fancied that I loved you. Had I not known this

onist of yours at Henley had been crippled before a race, and I watched you from the time I came on board. I saw that you were strangely confident; I saw how you were watching for something; I saw the fl

ill want any more specific

pointment. "I do not contradict your statements. It would be beneath me

e public the knowledge that I gained of your conduct yesterday. I have no proo

he sailed for Southampton Water. Beyond giving the necessary order to get under way, Carthew did not speak a word until she

ed the servant briefly

waiting for you i

u won the Cup, and also that the Osprey's bobstay burst at the right time, and tha

with you? You look as b

on the race, but I

, I thought that you fel

hat, as she said, my face was the best evidence of the truth of the story. More than that, she declared that she knew that I was at the bottom of the Osprey's business. However, she has no evidence about that; but the

f her changi

a s

wkward affa

gs go right at Goodwood I shall be cleaned right out. I calculated that everyt

ed the ground for you by bribing jockeys and so on, we ought to have made pots of money. Of course, we did

ut to get across the Channel unless,

ess there is some dark horse I feel sure t

im well back all the season, and never let him

some time smok

n see of getting things straightened out. She acknowledged that she liked me before she heard this accurs

are going to set about it, or what in the world you would do with her, and where you would put her when you had got her. I have done some

se, and I don't know that you wouldn't for bribing a jocke

re was said; then Conkling

y that the yacht woul

want a lot of scheming, but I don't see why it should not be done. If I could onc

crew, Carthew. I doubt whethe

find a fresh crew. Foreigners would be best, but it would look uncommonly rum for the Phantom to b

some foreign port, pay off the crew there and send them home, then get her altered and ship a foreign crew, you might cruise about as long as you

, and it would be a triumph to make her pay for the dressing down she gave me this morning. Besides, I am really fond of her, and I could forgive h

hip a fresh crew. I will draw my money from the bank. If things go well, I shall be set up again. If they go badly, there will be some long faces at Tatte

that that does not fetch her, I must try what threats will do. Anyhow, she won't leave until she steps on shore t

up, there is nothing

nd the day that she signs her name Bertha Carth

s a good scheme altogether, if we can hi

e, Ostend, or wherever I am stopping. I will send you the name of the hotel I put up at directly I get there. You had better send someone down at once to Ryde to let you know what she is doing, and when she comes up to

ay there if I can. I should get it done in half the time if I were present to push things on. Of course, you will

Tattersall's; then I can keep you informed how things are looking every day, and be ready to start

burnt my fingers enough over it, and I shall be glad to settle down as a country gentleman again. If I lose I shall make a privat