ungry? I was ashamed to say so, but I felt that a little food was all
that was needed to make me perfectly well." And Molly fell to with an
avidity that surprised her mother, who had not been able to persuade her
to take a mouthful all day.

"I have seen seasick persons before now," laughed Mr. Kinsella, "and
know by experience that there is a crucial moment when food must be
administered, and then the patient gets well immediately. I noticed you
were laughing, and no one with _mal-de-mer_ can laugh! And then your
color came back, and that is a signal for food, too. I am so glad you
like what I brought you."

"Mr. Kinsella, I cannot tell you how grateful I am," said Mrs. Brown. "I
don't wish you to be seasick, but I do wish Molly and I could repay your
kindness in some way."

"My dear lady, I am already in your debt for permitting my scape-grace
nephew and me to know you and your daughter. I have had my nose at the
grindstone of business for so many years that I feared it had grown out
of my power to make new friends; but I begin to see that I have not lost
the knack. Perhaps my somber presence is tolerated because of my gay,
jolly boy," and Mr. Kinsella gazed rather wistfully after Pierce, who
had crossed the deck to meet Elise O'Brien, just emerging from the
cabin.

"Oh, Mr. Kinsella, you must not think that," eagerly implored Molly. "I
always like serious men better than boys, and besides you are not somber
but full of gaiety and jokes. You are not fair to yourself if you think
people like you only on account of Pierce. He is a delightful boy,
but----"

"But what?"

"Don't press her too far, Mr. Kinsella," laughed Mrs. Brown. "She has
already confessed to a penchant to seriousness and finds 'beauty in
extreme old age'," and pinching Molly's blushing cheek, she went over to
join a group of recently made acquaintances who were looking at a
distant sail through an overworked spyglass belonging to one of the
tourists.

"What a tease Mother is! But she looks so like my brother Kent when she
teases me that I don't mind. Kent is always teasing and the only reason
I can stand it is that it makes him look like Mother! You see, Kent is
my special beloved brother and you know what my mother is."

"Yes, I know," answered Mr. Kinsella, who had sunk into the chair
vacated by Mrs. Brown. "Your mother is a rare woman: beautiful and
honest and tolerant, charming and well-bred, broad-minded and cultured.
Eternal youth is in