said no more; it was sufficiently evident
that the ladies would be badly in want of an escort indeed before they
would accept Dale.

The three ladies were soon ready; and as they took their way up the
valley Lance stood at the door with May on his shoulder, watching them;
and when at last they passed out of sight he made his way down to the
landing-place, seated the child carefully in the stern of a small dingy
which he found moored there, cast off the painter, stepped in himself,
and, shipping the short paddles, drove the tiny boat with long easy
leisurely strokes down toward the rock, chatting gaily with his tiny
companion the while, and causing her childish laughter to peal musically
and incessantly across the placid surface of the land-locked water.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN.

THE LADIES MAKE A DISCOVERY; AND BOB DISTINGUISHES HIMSELF.

It was a most delightful day for a walk, the ladies averred
enthusiastically; and their enthusiasm was quite justified. The azure
of the sky overhead was relieved by a bank of soft dappled fleecy
clouds, which served in some measure as a screen against the ardent rays
of the sun; and a gentle breeze from the westward imparted a feeling of
freshness to the air, whilst it wafted to the pedestrians the subtly
mingled perfumes of the thousand varied plants and flowers which
flourished in the deep rich soil of the island. As the ladies walked
quietly on up the gently sloping valley toward the hills their enjoyment
increased with every step. Hitherto they had only ventured abroad at
night; and lovely as the landscape had appeared in the clear mellow
radiance of the moon--the soft silvery light boldly contrasted with
broad masses of rich grey-brown shadow--they agreed that it was
incomparably more beautiful when viewed by the full light of day and in
all the glory of brilliant sunshine. A thousand gorgeous colours on
leaf and blossom, on gaily-plumaged bird and bright-winged insect,
charmed their eyes and enriched the foreground of the picture; while the
dense masses of foliage, with their subtle gradations of colour, light,
and shade, as they gradually receded into the background, and finally
melted into the rich purply grey of the extreme distance, balanced and
harmonised the whole, completing one of the most beautiful prospects
perhaps upon which the human eye had ever gazed.

Their spirits rose as they walked steadily onward and upward, breathing
with intense enjoyment the strong p