re bare of rings. Not a single jewel,
not even the most modest ornament relieved her sober appearance. She
was very quiet, spoke in a low voice and declared she had come down
only to drink a glass of mineral water and then to return at once to
her room.

As a matter of fact, she did nothing of the kind. The others prevailed
upon her to take a cup of coffee. Then the dessert was recalled, and,
forgetting herself in an animated discussion with Jadwin as to the name
of their steam yacht, she ate two plates of wine jelly before she was
aware. She expressed a doubt as to whether a little salad would do her
good, and after a vehement exhortation from Jadwin, allowed herself to
be persuaded into accepting a sufficiently generous amount.

"I think a classical name would be best for the boat," she declared.
"Something like 'Arethusa' or 'The Nereid.'"

They rose from the table and passed into the library. The evening was
sultry, threatening a rain-storm, and they preferred not to sit on the
"stoop." Jadwin lit a cigar; he still wore his business clothes--the
inevitable "cutaway," white waistcoat, and grey trousers of the
middle-aged man of affairs.

"Oh, call her the 'Artemis,'" suggested Page.

"Well now, to tell the truth," observed Jadwin, "those names look
pretty in print; but somehow I don't fancy them. They're hard to read,
and they sound somehow frilled up and fancy. But if you're satisfied,
Laura--"

"I knew a young man once," began Aunt Wess', "who had a boat--that was
when we lived at Kenwood and Mr. Wessels belonged to the
'Farragut'--and this young man had a boat he called 'Fanchon.' He got
tipped over in her one day, he and the three daughters of a lady I knew
well, and two days afterward they found them at the bottom of the lake,
all holding on to each other; and they fetched them up just like that
in one piece. The mother of those girls never smiled once since that
day, and her hair turned snow white. That was in 'seventy-nine. I
remember it perfectly. The boat's name was 'Fanchon.'"

"But that was a sail boat, Aunt Wess'," objected Laura. "Ours is a
steam yacht. There's all the difference in the world."

"I guess they're all pretty risky, those pleasure boats," answered Aunt
Wess'. "My word, you couldn't get me to set foot on one."

Jadwin nodded his head at Laura, his eyes twinkling.

"Well, we'll leave 'em all at home, Laura, when we go," he said.

A little later one of Page's "young men" called to