me
in California; but I wrote a second one before we left New York, telling
you of our intended departure, and where we were going."

"I never received it," he said. Neither spoke for a while, and then:

"Tell me of your sister and brother-in-law," he said.

"My sister is at present living in Cambridge, where Jack is at college,"
was the reply; "but poor Julius died two years ago."

"Ah," said John, "I am grieved to hear of Mr. Carling's death. I liked
him very much."

"He liked you very much," she said, "and often spoke of you."

There was another period of silence, so long, indeed, as to be somewhat
embarrassing. None of the thoughts which followed each other in John's
mind was of the sort which he felt like broaching. He realized that the
situation was getting awkward, and that consciousness added to the
confusion of his ideas. But if his companion shared his embarrassment,
neither her face nor her manner betrayed it as at last she said,
turning, and looking frankly at him:

"You seem very little changed. Tell me about yourself. Tell me something
of your life in the last six years."

During the rest of the voyage they were together for a part of every
day, sometimes with the company of Mrs. William Ruggles, but more often
without it, as her husband claimed much of her attention and rarely came
on deck; and John, from time to time, gave his companion pretty much the
whole history of his later career. But with regard to her own life, and,
as he noticed, especially the two years since the death of her
brother-in-law, she was distinctly reticent. She never spoke of her
marriage or her husband, and after one or two faintly tentative
allusions, John forebore to touch upon those subjects, and was driven to
conclude that her experience had not been a happy one. Indeed, in their
intercourse there were times when she appeared distrait and even moody;
but on the whole she seemed to him to be just as he had known and loved
her years ago; and all the feeling that he had had for her then broke
forth afresh in spite of himself--in spite of the fact that, as he told
himself, it was more hopeless than ever: absolutely so, indeed.

It was the last night of their voyage together. The Ruggleses were to
leave the ship the next morning at Algiers, where they intended to
remain for some time.

"Would you mind going to the after-deck?" he asked. "These people
walking about fidget me," he added rather irritably.

She rose, and t