Now his taking that step would have the appearance of being the interference of a disappointed rival, rather than of a disinterested friend.

He went up on deck, sat there for a time, and at last arrived at a conclusion.
"It is my duty.

There can be no doubt about that," he said to himself.

"If Bertha really loves Carthew, she will believe his denial rather than my accusation, unsupported as it is by a scrap of real evidence.

In that case, she will put down my story as a piece of malice and meanness.