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u think of the idea?" "A first-rate one. I'd like to come in." "No; this is all my own and Molly's. But how'll I start her off?" "Get an efficient young man to act as private secretary; a fairly good accountant; no rich man's son, but some one who has had a chance to observe life. Make him a buffer between Mrs. Killigrew and the whining cheats. And above all, no young man who has social entree to your house. That kind of a private secretary is always a fizzle." "Any one in mind?" "No." "I have," said Kitty, rising and going toward the companion-ladder to the lower decks. "What now?" demanded Killigrew. "Let her be; Kitty has a sensible head on her shoulders, for all her foolery." Mrs. Killigrew laid a restraining hand on her husband's arm. But Mrs. Crawford smiled a replica of that smile which had aroused her curiosity in regard to Kitty. And then her face grew serious. Kitty had a mind like her father's. Her ideas were seldom nebulous or slow in forming. They sprang forth, full grown, like those mythological creatures: Minerva was an idea of Jove's, as doubtless Venus was an idea of Neptune's. Men with this quality become captains-general of armies or of money-bags. In a man it signifies force; in a woman, charm. Kitty searched diligently and found the object of her quest on the main-deck, starboard, leaning against one of the deck supports and reading from a book which lay flat on the broad teak rail, in a blue shadow. The sea smiled at Kitty and Kitty smiled at the sea. Men are not the only adventurers; they have no monopoly on daring. And what Kitty proposed doing was daring indeed, for she did not know into what dangers it might eventually lead her. "Mr. Webb?" Thomas looked up. "You are wanting me, miss?" "If you are not too busy." "Really, no. I have been reading." He closed the book, loose-leafed from frequent perusals. "I am at your service." "Do you read much, Mr. Webb?" The reiteration of the prefix to his name awakened him to the marvelous fact that for the present he was no longer the machine; she was recognizing the man. "Perhaps, for a man in my station, I read too much, Miss Killigrew." Kitty's scarlet lips stirred ever so slightly. It was the first time he had added the name to the prefix: he in his turn was recognizing the woman. And this rather pleased her, for she liked to be recognized. "May I ask what it is you are reading?" He of
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