d away at any moment?" he asked unsteadily.

"I am afraid so."

Thunderstruck, he stared at her: "What on earth are we to do?" he
groaned.

"_We?_"

"You and I?"

"How does it concern _me_?" asked the girl coldly.

"Doesn't it?"

She looked him calmly in the eye and shook her head.

"No, Mr. Langdon. However, as you are to remain here for a day or two
under observation, no doubt you will receive _some_ attention."

"Ethra! Isn't it possible that you might learn to care----"

"Hush! That is no way to talk!"

"Well--well, I can't wait for you to----"

"You _must_ wait! You have nothing to say about such things until some
girl asks you. And that isn't very likely. Those four perfectly handsome
young men have been here for weeks now, and, although they have received
lots of attention, not one girl has yet made any of them an actual
declaration. The girls here are having too good a time to do anything
more serious than a little fussing--just enough to frisk a kiss now and
then and keep the men amused----"

"_That_ is monstrous!" said Langdon, very red. "When a man's really in
love----"

"Nonsense! Men are flirts--every one of them!"

She laughed, made him a little gesture of adieu, refused to let him
follow her, and coolly sauntered off among the trees, heedless of his
remonstrances at being left to himself.

He watched her until she disappeared, then, with misgivings, walked
toward a tennis court, where the four men were playing a rather dawdling
and indifferent game and keeping a lively eye out for the advent of some
girl.

They appeared to be rather good-looking fellows, not in any way
extraordinary, remarkable neither for symmetry of feature nor of limb.

Langdon stood at the edge of the court looking at them and secretly
comparing their beauty with such charms as he was shyly inclined to
attribute to himself. There could be no doubt that he compared favourably
with them. If he was some, they were not so much.

One, a tall young fellow with blond, closely clipped hair, nodded
pleasantly to him, and presently came over to speak to him.

"I suppose you are a new recruit. Glad to see you. We're all anxious to
have enough men captured to get up two ball nines. My name is Reginald
Willett."

"Mine is Curtis Langdon."

"Come over and meet the others," said Willett pleasantly.

Langdon followed him, and was presently on excellent terms with James
Carrick, De Lancy Smith, and Alphonso W. Green, ami