the food to eat that her appetite craved for, there was plenty of
crystal spring water to drink. At night she slept peacefully, lulled by
the rhythmical music of the waves as they washed lazily against the
shore, and when she awoke the birds were singing their joyous notes of
welcome to another glorious day. It was the voluptuous life of the
tropics with all its dreamy languor, its sensuous charm.

Constant living in the open had indeed effected a wonderful improvement
in her personal appearance. Had she possessed a mirror she would
scarcely have recognized in that health-flushed face, tanned by wind and
sun, the pale and languid girl whose condition had alarmed her friends
in New York. With her large dark eyes, clear and limpid, her lips, red
and tempting as cherries, her glorious hair caught up in careless knot,
her bosom fuller, her lines more rounded, her walk with an elasticity it
had never known before--she was in the full bloom of youth and beauty.
Grace herself realized the change, and vaguely she guessed that this
explained the new mental attitude she had assumed toward her unfortunate
position. Not only in body, but in her mind she felt more vigorous. Her
despondency had given place to a pronounced optimism. She took keen
interest in everything taking place around her. She was no longer
peevish and irritable. She laughed and chatted with the spontaneous
gaiety of youth, and if it were not for a constantly gnawing anxiety to
know what the future had in store, to communicate with her parents, she
would have been content to go on living like this for months.

Not only were the surroundings ideal and conducive to real happiness,
but it was a new and pleasurable sensation to her to find that she could
be of some use in the world. She took pride in doing her share of the
work, and her respect for herself grew in proportion as she felt that
her services were appreciated by Armitage. Gradually she learned to
scrutinize his face to see if he approved what she had done, and if she
saw him smile she beamed with satisfaction.

Long ago she had come to the conclusion that her companion was no
ordinary man. Not only was he above his apparent station in life, but he
possessed qualities that she had never yet detected in any of the men
she had met. Not only was he handsome and built like an Apollo, but she
recognized his superior mentality. He was born for leadership--that was
evident by the manner in which he had managed th