d lost himself there. She
thought his face was a bit set; but, for all that, he looked this
moment more as she had known him at twenty-one than when he came back
at twenty-two. After his travels of a year he had seemed to her so
much wiser than she that he had instantly become her senior. She had
listened to him as to a man of the world, with something of awe. It
was more difficult then to have him for a prince, because princes,
though brave and adventurous, must not be too wise.

She smiled as she realized that, as he stood there now, Monte did not
in the least inspire her with awe or fear or a sense of superior
wisdom. The mellow light softened his features and the light breeze
had tousled his hair, so that for all his years told he might have been
back in his football days. He had been like that all the afternoon.

A new tenderness swept over her. She would have liked to reach up her
hand and smooth away the little puzzled frown between his brows. She
almost dared to do it. Then he turned.

"You're right," he said, with a shrug of his shoulders. "It is n't
real. See, it's fading now."

The pink clouds were turning a dull gray.

"Perhaps it's better it should," she suggested. "If it stayed like
that all the time, we'd get so used to it we would n't see it."

He took out his watch.

"I ordered supper to be ready in a half hour," he said. "We'd better
get back."

She fell in step by his side--by the side of her fairy prince. For,
oddly enough, he had not begun to fade as the sunset faded. The
twilight was deepening into the hushed night--a wonderful night that
was like beautiful music heard at a distance. It left her scarcely
conscious of moving. In the sky the stars were becoming clearer; in
the houses, candles were beginning to twinkle. It was difficult to
tell which were which--as if the sky and the earth were one.

There was no abrupt change even when they came into the inn, where near
the open window a table had been set and two candles were burning.

"Oh," she exclaimed again, "here is another bit of fairy world."

He laughed abruptly.

"I hope the supper is real, anyhow," he said.

He spoke as if making a conscious effort to break the spell. It made
her glance up as he seated her; but all she thought of then was that
she would like to smooth back his hair. The spell was not broken.

Chops and cauliflower and a salad were served to them, with patties of
fresh butter and crusted