and became even paler than usual. She spoke in a low voice to him, and her long fair hair fell loose upon his shoulders. Its twist had got loosed like a cable suddenly unrolling, for she was as lively as a fish. That hair, if you had seen it!—it was just like gold. As they continued to speak together in a low voice, he kissing her forhead from time to time, I became impatient:
"'Well, does that suit you?' said I at length.
"'But—but—captain—you are very good, but you cannot live with convicts,—and—' He cast his eyes down as he spoke.
"'As for me,' said I, 'I don't know what you have done to be transported for. You will tell me that some of these days or never, if you choose. You don't look as if you had a very heavy conscience, and I am sure that I have done many a worse thing than you, in my life, my poor innocent little souls. Now, so long as you are under my guard, I shall not let you go, you may be sure of that; I would rather wring your necks like two pigeons. But the epaulette once off, I know no longer admiral nor anything else.'
"'The fact is,' he answered, mournfully shaking his brown head, though a little powdered, as was still the fashion of that day,—'the fact is, I think it would be dangerous for you, captain, to seem to know us. We laugh because we are
