scanned her that stood like a slender statue of silver--dark hair
moon-brightened, white arms holding her skirts, white legs round which
the spent waves sparkled with unworldly fire. He waded over to her and
timidly kissed the edge of her hair.

She rubbed her cheek against his. "Now we must run," she said. She
quickly turned back to the shadow of the board-walk, to draw on her
stockings and shoes, kneeling on the sand like the simple maid of the
ballads which she had been envying.

They tramped along the board-walk, with heels clicking like castanets,
conscious that the world was hushed in night's old enchantment.

As they had answered to companionship with the humble picnic-parties
among the dunes, so now they found it amusing to dine among the
semi-great and the semi-motorists at the Nassau. Ruth had a distinct
pleasure when T. Wentler, horse-fancier, aviation enthusiast,
president of the First State Bank of Sacramento, came up, reminded
Carl of their acquaintanceship at the Oakland-Berkeley Aero Meet, and
begged Ruth and Carl to join him, his wife, and Senator Leeford, for
coffee.

As they waited for their train, quiet after laughter, Ruth remarked:
"It was jolly to play with the Personages. You haven't seen much of
the frivolous side of me. It's pretty important. You don't know how
much soul satisfaction I get out of dancing all night and playing
tennis with flanneled oafs and eating _marrons glaces_ and chatting in
a box at the opera till I spoil the entire evening for all the German
music-lovers, and talking to all the nice doggies from the Tennis and
Racquet Club whenever I get invited to Piping Rock or Meadow Brook or
any other country club that has ancestors. I want you to take
warning."

"Did you really miss Piping Rock much to-day?".

"No--but I might to-morrow, and I might get horribly bored in our
cabin in the Rockies and hate the stony old peaks, and long for tea
and scandal in a corner at the Ritz."

"Then we'd hike on to San Francisco; have tea at the St. Francis or
the Fairmont or the Palace; then beat it for your Hawaii and fireflies
in the bush."

"Perhaps, but suppose, just suppose we were married, and suppose the
Touricar didn't go so awfully well, and we had to be poor, and
couldn't go running away, but had to stick in one beastly city flat
and economize! It's all very well to talk of working things out
together, but think of not being able to have decent clothes, and
going to the movi