glow in her hair was almost a perfect match to
the shafts of sunlight which sifted down upon her through the branches
of the trees overhead. And he wondered at his resisting powers--why the
spell of her fascination no longer held him as of old, not realizing
that his love for her had waned in the same proportion that he had grown
beyond her. The air of restraint which existed between them would have
been apparent even to a stranger, but Blanch had decided to dissipate
this feeling if possible. She laughed and chatted as though entirely at
her ease, as though nothing had ever come between them; making sarcastic
remarks on the customs of the country; calling into requisition all the
blandishments and fascinations which a woman of her intelligence and
attraction was capable of exercising upon a man. Every word, every look
and gesture fell upon him like a caress. She flattered, cajoled and
contradicted him, employing that subtle, deceptive art of refined
coquetry to which a sensitive nature like the Captain's was most
susceptible. Nor were its effects lost upon him; they were soon both at
their ease. She was the old Blanch again; the girl and companion of his
youth--the woman of yesterday.

The struggle that was being fought out inch by inch between her and
Chiquita was drawing swiftly to its close, and must end as abruptly as
it began. She had only begun to realize what the full significance of
love meant in the hour that she felt the loneliness occasioned by the
lack of it. She had miscalculated. She thought she was stronger than
Captain Forest, but could she have cared for him had he been a weaker
man? It was his strength which she both loved and hated, and deep down
in her heart she knew full well that, were he weaker than herself, she
must have ended by despising him. She, like Chiquita, was fighting for
her life, her very existence so to speak; but of course he did not
divine the full significance of the struggle--what it meant to them
both; no man could.

"Does the charm of this land still continue to hold you, Jack?" she
asked carelessly, passing him a cup of tea.

"More than ever," he answered, lighting a cigarette and wondering what
she was leading up to.

"Don't you think you have had about enough of it?" she continued, with
just a shade of sarcasm in her voice. "You have had a royal vacation and
I'm glad you have enjoyed yourself so thoroughly, but, honestly, don't
you think it's about time you were returnin