d to fasten
her cloak, and the people pushing by forced her to his side. An electric
lamp burned overhead and her beauty moved him. He noted the heavy coils
of her dark hair, her delicate color, and the grace of her form.

"I'm not at all tired," he said. "I feel remarkably braced and keen, as
if I'd waked up from sleep. In fact, I think I have awakened."

Ruth laughed. She saw he was not smiling and his graveness gave her a
sense of power. He had owned, with typical frankness, that she had moved
him.

"Sometimes to wake up suddenly gives one a jolt," she said. "However,
you will soon get calm again in the woods."

He sensed something provocative and challenging in her voice, but he
would not play up.

"I wonder--" he said quietly. "In a way, the proper line's to go to
sleep again."

"Sometimes one dreams! I expect you dream about locomotives breaking
through trestles and dump-cars plunging into muskegs?"

He laughed. "They're things I know, and safe to dream about. All the
same, I rather expect I'll be haunted by lights and music, pretty
dresses and faces--"

He stopped, and Ruth remarked: "If these have charm, there are no very
obvious grounds for your going without. You can command a locomotive and
Winnipeg's not very far from your camp. But we're stopping the people,
and I can't fix this clasp."

She moved, and the opera cloak fell back from her arm, which was
uncovered but for the filmy sleeve that reached a little below the
shoulder. He noted its fine curves and the silky smoothness of her skin.
Although he fastened the clasp with a workman's firm touch, he thrilled.
Then the crowd forced them on and they found Duveen waiting by the car.
When they stopped at Lister's hotel Ruth said, "We are going to Winnipeg
Beach, Saturday. Would you like to come?"

Duveen nodded. "A happy thought! I've got to talk to some business
people who make Ruth tired. If you come along, I needn't bother about
her."

"That's how one's father argues!" Ruth exclaimed.

Lister hesitated. "I was told to lie off because I was hurt. If I'm fit
to enjoy an excursion, I'm fit to work."

"You're too scrupulous, young man. Have a good time when it's possible,
or you'll be sorry afterwards. I reckon you're justified to take all the
company will give."

"It was caution, not scruples. Suppose I meet one of the railroad
chiefs?"

"I'll fix him," Duveen rejoined. "Your bosses won't get after you when
you belong to my party. Anyhow,