ooks like a menagerie on a small scale," he remarked. "Are these
animals yours?"

"No," she answered; "they belong to Mrs. Keith."

"Mrs. Keith?" he said sharply. "The lady I saw at the _Frontenac_ with
the autocratic manners and a Roman nose? It's curious, but she reminds
me of somebody I knew and the name's the same. I wonder----"

He broke off, and Millicent Graham studied him as he stood in the
moonlight. She did not think he recognized her and perhaps he was
hardly justified in supposing that his timely aid at the gangway
dispensed with the need for an introduction, but she liked his looks,
which she remembered well. She had no fear of this man's presuming too
far; he had a humorous, good-natured air and his surprise when she
mentioned Mrs. Keith had roused her interest.

"Yes," she said; "I believe it was my employer you knew."

He did not follow this lead, but asked: "Are you supposed to sit up all
night and watch the animals for her?"

"Only for an hour or two. The steamboat people refused to have them in
the saloon, and the maid should have relieved me. She was tired,
however, with packing and running errands all day, and I thought I'd
let her sleep a while."

"Then it can't be much of an intrusion if I try to make you more
comfortable. Let me move your chair nearer the deckhouse, where you'll
be out of the wind; but I'll first see if I can find another rug."

He left her without waiting for a reply and, returning with a rug,
placed her chair in a sheltered spot, after which he leaned against the
rails.

"So you are Mrs. Keith's companion," he remarked. "It strikes me as
rather unfeeling of her to keep you here in the cold." He indicated
the baskets. "But what's her object in buying these creatures?"

"Caprice," said Millicent, smiling. "Some of them are savage, and they
cost a good deal. I can't imagine what she means to do with them, and
I don't think she knows. One of them, however, has been growling all
day, and as it's apparently unwell it mustn't be neglected."

"If it growls any more, I'll feel tempted to turn yonder hose upon it
or try some other drastic remedy."

"Please don't!" cried Millicent in alarm. "But you mustn't think Mrs.
Keith is inconsiderate. I have much to thank her for, but she gets
very enthusiastic over her hobbies."

"Do you know if she ever goes down to a little place in Shropshire?"

"She does; I have been with her. Once she took me to your old home