d Condy, swallowing so

se to h

eated, a little frightened.

ndy. "How delightful.

Captain jovially, "and I'll introduce you t

delighted," vociferated the two

in, as he rolled the door of the boat-house to its pla

nudged him fiercely with an elbow to recall him to himself; for Condy's wits were scattered like a flock

d time to whisper before they arri

epare for what was coming. Captain Jack ushered them into what was either the

fortable here, an' I'll g

one than the two t

el

EL

in for

Condy; act just as natural as

ing SHE rec

hen. How ARE they to know

oud! They know by n

e married. And besides, they wouldn't speak about putting 'person

they could pos

e they c

they

ly calm, and

sn't K. D. B.

he latter all grins-came in from the direction of the kitchen, K. D. B. wearing a n

s some young folks come out to see the place an' I want you to know 'em. Mr. Rive

aimed Condy and

t the Captain and I-I-that is-yes, I'm quite sure I've seen you bef

't it?" said Condy desperately. "It s

Captain there?

I came back for it; and just as I was going out it

ir "matrimonial objects" to bel

red K. D. B. tactfully. "We dine

facts of the situation ignored, and determined she should

s supper one has

. D. B., forgetting that they dined there every Monda

y, exclaiming: "Oh, you was the chap that cal

a barkentine?" he

d the Captain. "Why, that was a

their walk again. The Captain and K. D. B. had even accompanied them to the gate of the station,

ing both hands to his head. "We

it's all right. You can see the Captain is in love with her, a

Condy, all aghast. "That's what m

how-how readily they-adapted themselv

d to like u

ey knew the truth. Without u

in, did you notice that? Let's do it, Blix," Con

be fun to call on them-to get

sk us to dinn

he stories he c

excitedly at the same time, going over the details of th

stripes, reading Shakespeare from that pulpit on board the ship, and the

up as he went along. He don't seem to have any sense of

rence would

Trades blowing in their faces, the smell of the salt sea coming in long aromatic whiffs to their nostrils. Young and strong and fresh, their imaginations thronging with pictures o

f thought or of reflection as those of two fine, clean animals. They were all for the immediate sensation; they did not think-they FELT. The intellect was dormant; they looked at things, they heard things, they smelled the smell of the sea, and of the seaweed, of the fat, rank growth of cresses in the salt marshes; they turned their cheeks to the passing wind, and filled their mouths and breasts with it. Their life was sweet to them; every

erature. To live was better than to read; one live human being was better than ten thousand Shakespeares; an act was better than a thought. Why, just to love Blix, to be with her, to see the sweet, clean flush of her cheek, to know that she was there at his side, and to have the touch of her elbow as they walked,

and a strange sense of tenderness, so vague and yet so great that it eluded speech and all expression. Love her! Of course he loved her! He had, all unknowing, loved her even before this wonderful morning: had loved her that day at the lake, and that never-to-be-f

n the days when they had just known each other, and met each other in the weekly course of their formal life, it had not been so, even though they pretended a certain amount of affection. He remembered the evening when Blix had brought those days to an abrupt end, and how at the moment he had told himself that after all he had never known the real Blix. Since then, in the charming, unconventional life they had led, everything had been changed. He had come t

e entrance of the Golden Gate. They turned its angle, and there rolled the Pacific, a blue floor of shifting water, stretching out there foreve

rd face of the hills that rise from the beach, or sometimes upon the beach itself, stepping fro

wet. The air was full of the prolonged thunder of the surf, and at intervals sea-birds passed overhead with an occasional piping cry. Wreckage was tumbled about here and there; and innumerable cocoanut shards, huge, brown cups of fuzzy bark, lay underfoot and i

nd even twisted her ankle; but her little eyes were never so bright, nor was the pink flush of her cheeks ever more adorable. And she was never done talking-a veritable chatterbox. She saw everything and talked about everything she saw, quite indifferent as to whether or no Condy listened. Now

sit down somewhere,"

land thrust out into the sea and shut off the wind; a path was there, and they followed it f

d persistently carried ever since morning. Then Blix fell suddenly silent, and for a long time the two sat there without speaking, absorbed in the enjoyment of looking at the enormous green hills ro

l the looks of it, mightn't we, Condy?" said Blix, after

tead of shoes took out, first, a pint bottle of claret, then "devilish" ham sandwiches in oiled paper, a bottle

ng her hands upon her knees, and rockin

mbered I loved stuffed olives, too; and a book to read. What is it-'The S

id you think-think

ent over his foolery, a

I made thos

they ate as though at a banquet, and Blix even took off her hat and hung it upon one of the nearby bushes. Of course Condy had forgotten a corkscrew. He tried to dig out the cork of the claret

" observed Condy. "We're getting regula

ppy just because the ocean was blue and the morning fine. He loved her because she was so pretty, because of the softness of her yellow hair, because of her round, white forehead and pink cheeks, because of her little, dark-brown eyes, with that look in them as if she were just done smiling or just about to smile, one could not say which; loved her because of her good, firm mouth and chin, because of her full neck and its high, tight bands of white satin. And he loved her because her arms were strong and round, and because she wore the great dog-collar around her trim, firm-corseted waist, and because there emanated from her with every movement a barely perceptible, delicious, feminine odor, that was

olling and blowing back from her forehead, her hands clasped over

urse. And it was because of that very reason that their companionship of the last three or four months had been so charming. She looked upon him merely as a chum. She had not changed in the least

companionship upon the instant. They had both agreed upon that; they had tried the other, and it had worked out. As

and under hand, and that at a time when every nerve of him quivered like a smitten harp-string. It was not in him or in his temperament to love her calmly, quietly, or at a distance;

ession of no little concern. "What are you frowning so about, an

t her, and bestirr

corner?" he said. "Blix, ho

s from to

aybe you never will come back. Can't tell what will h

it. To all his efforts it responded only by gasps, mournfulest d

demanded. "You're sitting on it, Blix. Her

u read

hes, and pay the car-fare? I think this expedition will cost me pretty near three dollars before

his pocket, and Blix a

tching me,

d lost, and Blix said, a

is just simple madness. You and I have never played a game

are you doing

ftily; "gloves and veils and l

way she spoke tha

d intently, but Condy could not have told of what he was reading. Living was better than reading, life was better than literature, and his new-found love for her was poetry enough for him. He read so that he might not talk to her or look at her, for it seemed to him at times as t

did line!" Bl

-day. Let's make a promise, no matter what happens or where we are, let's

l promise

orget to-day nor-yes, yes, I'll promise-wh

on

e sitting on it again. Confound the

e to get home in time for supper

money. What kind of a purse-proud plutocrat do you think I a

ve council over their finances. They had just enough for c

Richard's ti

my CIGAR,"

s. You said it was the least I c

im a dime, don't you see? I'll

le further on they gained one of the roads of the Reservation, red earth smooth as a billiard table; and just at an angle where the road made a sharp elbow and trended cityward, they paused for a m

es later they reac

id Condy, "and strike any number

lighted pipe. But as they came around the edge of a long line of eucal

or

smart, short golfing skirts and plaid cloaks, they saw young Sargeant and his sister, two other girls wh