s the dome, covering it with a
tranquil beauty more sublime than words can paint.

Grace looked eagerly among the impressed spectators for Henry Veath.
Somehow she longed for him to see all this beauty that had given her so
much pleasure. He was not there and she was conscious of a guilty
depression. She was sitting with Hugh and Lady Huntingford when, long
afterward, Veath approached.

"I'd like a word with you, Hugh," he said after the greetings, "when the
ladies have gone below."

"It is getting late and I am really very tired," said Grace. It was
quite dark, or they could have seen that her face was pale and full of
concern. She knew instinctively what it was that Veath wanted to say to
Hugh. Then she did something she had never done before in the presence
of another. She walked quickly to Hugh's side, bent over and kissed his
lips, almost as he gasped in astonishment.

"Good-night, dear," she said, quite audibly, and was gone with Lady
Huntingford. The astounded lover was some time in recovering from the
surprise inspired by her unexpected act. It was the first time she had
ever been sisterly in that fashion before the eyes of others.

"I hope I have said nothing to offend them," said Veath miserably. "Was
I too abrupt?"

"Not in the least. They've seen enough for one night anyhow, and I guess
they were only waiting for an excuse to go below," replied Hugh. To
himself he said, "I wonder what the dickens Grace did that for? And why
was Lady Huntingford so willing to leave?"

Veath sat nervously wriggling his thumbs, plainly ill at ease. His jaw
was set, however, and there was a look in his eyes which signified a
determination to brave it out.

"You know me pretty well by this time, Hugh," he said. Hugh awoke from
his abstraction and displayed immediate interest. "You know that I am
straightforward and honest, if nothing else. There is also in my make-up
a pride which you may never have observed or suspected, and it is of
this that I want to speak before attempting to say something which will
depend altogether upon the way you receive the introduction."

"Go ahead, Henry. You're serious to-night, and I can see that something
heavy is upon your mind."

"It is a very serious matter, I can assure you. Well, as you perhaps
know from my remarks or allusions on previous occasions, I am a poor
devil. I have nothing on earth but the salary I can earn, and you can
guess what that will amount to in Manila. My fathe