were boys together, and the Traynors were among the few on
whom he called frequently. He made no secret of his attraction for
Ray, and the young girl liked him as well as she chose to like anybody.
He had qualities, not usually met with in successful men, that made a
strong appeal to her--fine ideals, and a purpose in life. She liked
his seriousness, finding him different in this respect from any other
man she knew. She felt he admired her, but he did not make love to her
and she was grateful to him for that. She liked his society and never
tired of discussing with him sociology and other subjects in which both
were interested.

"When does the steamer sail?" interrupted Ray anxiously, as if afraid
that they might go off with her on board.

"In half an hour," said the lawyer. "They ring a warning bell. There
is plenty of time. Where's Kenneth?"

"Down below in his stateroom--wrestling with baggage," replied Helen.
"He said he would join us here."

"Well, suppose we sit down a bit," he suggested.

"Yes--that will be jolly," exclaimed Ray.

The lawyer pulled up three steamer chairs and sitting down, they
watched the crowd which had already begun to thin out. The novelty of
the scene held both women fascinated. The constant bustle and
excitement, the going and coming of well-groomed men and women, the
little scraps of conversation overheard, interested them both beyond
measure. Helen studied each individual couple, wondering who they
were, how long married, if they were happy, where they were going to.
She wondered if that coarse, loudly dressed woman really cared for her
husband, or if this brutal looking man with insolent stare of the
libertine, illtreated his delicate little wife. She herself could not
understand marriage without genuine affection on both sides. Any such
intimate relation as the marriage tie involved must surely be repellent
and abhorrent to any self-respecting woman unless love were there to
sanction and sanctify it.

Ray glanced at her sister and laughed.

"Why so serious, Helen? He hasn't gone yet."

Helen sighed.

"But he soon will be. I wish he were here instead of downstairs."

Ray protested.

"Please be nautically correct. Remember we are on a ship. You don't
say 'downstairs'; you say 'below.'"

Mr. Steell turned round with a smile.

"I had no idea you were so well posted in sailor's parlance."

The young girl laughed.

"Oh, you don't know half my accomplishmen