"It was for my sister."

"You never told me you had a sister," said Robinette, as they walked
together, Lavendar wheeling his bicycle and Carnaby sulking behind
them.

"I am blessed with two; one married now; the other, my sister Amy,
lives at home."

"Well, you see, in spite of all our questions the first time we met,
we really know very little about each other," she went on lightly. "It
takes such a long time to get thoroughly acquainted in this country.
Do they ever count you a friend if you do not know all their aunts and
second cousins?"

Lavendar laughed. "Willingly would I introduce you to my aunts and my
uttermost cousins, and lay the map of my life before you, uneventful
as it has been, if that would further our acquaintance."

Even as he spoke a hateful memory darted into his thoughts, and he
reddened to his temples, until Mrs. Loring wondered if she had said
anything to annoy him.

Some fortunate accident at this point ordered that Carnaby should
meet a friend, another middy about his own age, and they set off
together in quest of a third boy who was supposed to be in the near
neighbourhood.

As soon as the lads were out of sight Lavendar found the jests they
had been bandying together die on his lips. "I'm going down deeper; I
shall be out of my depth very soon," he thought to himself, as he
walked in silence by Robinette's side.

"Let us come down to the beach again; we can't go to the station for
half an hour yet," she said. "I like to look out to sea, and realize
that if I sailed long enough I could step off that pier, and arrive in
America."

They stood by the sea-wall together with the fresh wind playing on
their faces. "Isn't it curious," said Robinette, "how instinctively
one always turns to look at the sea; inland may be ever so lovely, but
if the sea is there we generally look in that direction."

"Because it is unbounded, like the future," said Lavendar. He was
looking as he spoke at some children playing on the sands just
beside them. There was a gallant little boy among them with a bare
curly head, who refused help from older sisters and was toiling away
at his sand castle, his whole soul in his work; throwing up
spadefuls--tremendous ones for four years old--upon its ramparts,
as if certain they could resist the advancing tide.

"What a noble little fellow!" exclaimed Robinette, catching the
direction of Lavendar's glance. "Isn't he splendid? toiling like that;
stumping about on