The challenge gave her courage. Sheppard, in a voice of agony. 3. From the Sha-mien to the yacht, Spurlock had uttered no word; though, even in the semi-darkness, no gesture or word of Ruth's escaped him. ‘Desist, you little devil,’ he growled in her ear. ‘But for my dowry, what else? One cannot expect that an Englishman will marry any jeune demoiselle without a dowry.