ight at Tegucigalpa, Prale had talked to her and had danced with
her twice. He judged her to be about twenty-eight, some ten years
younger than himself. She was small and charming, not one of the
helpless butterfly sort, but a woman who gave indication that she could
care for herself if necessary.

Prale had been surprised to find her aboard the _Manatee_, but she had
told him that she was going home, that her health had been much
benefited, and that she felt she could not remain away longer. It had
seemed to Prale that she avoided him purposely, and that puzzled him a
bit. He could not understand why any woman should absolutely dislike
him. His record in Honduras was a clean one; it was known that he did
not care much for women, and surely she had learned that he was a man of
means, and did not think he might be a fortune hunter wishing to marry a
prominent heiress.

He had not spoken to her half a dozen times during the voyage. She made
the acquaintance of others aboard and, for the first few days, had been
busy in their company. The last three days had been stormy ones, and
Kate Gilbert had not been much in evidence. Prale judged that she was a
poor sailor.

Now she stopped beside him, the middle-aged maid standing just behind
her.

"Well, we're home, Mr. Prale!" she said.

"I suppose that you are glad to get home?"

"Surely!" she replied. "And I'll be angry if there are not half a dozen
to meet me when I land. I've been trying to spot some friends in that
crowd, but it is a hopeless task."

"I hope you'll not be disappointed," Prale said.

As he spoke, he glanced past her at the middle-aged maid, and surprised
a peculiar expression on the face of the woman. She had been looking
straight at him, and her lips were almost curled into a sneer, while her
eyes were flashing with something akin to anger.

Prale did not understand that. Why should the dragon be incensed with
him? He was making no attempt to lay siege to the heart of Miss Kate
Gilbert. He was no fortune hunter after an heiress. The expression on
the face of the maid amused Prale even while he wondered what it could
mean.

"Picked your hotel?" Kate Gilbert was asking.

"Not yet, but I hope to get in somewhere," Prale told her. "May I be of
assistance to you when we land?"

"Marie will help me, thanks--and there will be others on the wharf," she
answered.

A cold look had come into her face again, and she turned half away from
him and looked