"For forcing you to write me that letter--can you ever forgive me?"
"Oh, the letter? Oh, Bertie, we were both wrong--terribly wrong. But we were saved."
"Yes, we were saved. Thank God--thank God!"
"That was my first cry, Bertie, when I felt that I was safe--that we both had been saved: Thank God! It seemed as if a miracle had been done to save us."
"I spent the night praying that you might be kept away from me, Bertie --away for ever and ever. I felt that I was miserably weak; I felt that I could not trust myself; but now that you are here beside me again I feel strong. Oh, Bertie, we know ourselves better now than we did a week ago--is it only a week ago? It seems months--years--a lifetime!"
"Yes, I think that we know each other better now, Ella. That night aboard the yacht all the history of the past six months seemed to come before me. I saw what a wretch I had been, and I was overwhelmed with self-contempt."
"It was all my fault, dear Bertie. I was foolish--vain--a mere woman! Do not say that I did not take pride in what I called, in my secret moments, my conquest. Oh, Bertie! I had sunk into the depths. And then that letter! But we were saved, and I feel that we have been saved forevermore. I feel strong by your side now. And you, I know, feel strong, Bertie?"
"I have awakened from my dream, Ella. You called her your good angel too. Surely it was my good angel that sent me to her that evening!"