without these binoculars!'

"'It's not extraordinary,' said I; 'the surf-ducks and coots any
novice might recognize; the widgeon and buffleheads I should not have
been able to name unless they had risen from the water. It is easy to
tell any duck when it is flying, even though it looks no bigger than a
black pin-point.'

"But the professor insisted that it was marvellous, and he said that I
might render him invaluable service if I would consent to come and
camp at Pine Inlet for a few weeks.

"I looked at his daughter, but she turned her back. Her back was
beautifully moulded. Her gown fitted also.

"'Camp out here?' I repeated, pretending to be unpleasantly surprised.

"'I do not think he would care to,' said Miss Holroyd, without
turning.

"I had not expected that.

"'Above all things,' said I, in a clear, pleasant voice, 'I like to
camp out.'

"She said nothing.

"'It is not exactly camping,' said the professor. 'Come, you shall see
our conservatory. Daisy, come, dear! You must put on a heavier frock;
it is getting towards sundown.'

"At that moment, over a near dune, two horses' heads appeared,
followed by two human heads, then a wagon, then a yellow dog.

"I turned triumphantly to the professor.

"'You are the very man I want,' he muttered--'the very man--the very
man.'

"I looked at Daisy Holroyd. She returned my glance with a defiant
little smile.

"'Waal,' said Captain McPeek, driving up, 'here we be! Git out,
Frisby.'

"Frisby, fat, nervous, and sentimental, hopped out of the cart.

"'Come,' said the professor, impatiently moving across the dunes. I
walked with Daisy Holroyd. McPeek and Frisby followed. The yellow dog
walked by himself.

XVIII

"The sun was dipping into the sea as we trudged across the meadows
towards a high, dome-shaped dune covered with cedars and thickets of
sweet bay. I saw no sign of habitation among the sand-hills. Far as
the eye could reach, nothing broke the gray line of sea and sky save
the squat dunes crowned with stunted cedars.

"Then, as we rounded the base of the dune, we almost walked into the
door of a house. My amazement amused Miss Holroyd, and I noticed also
a touch of malice in her pretty eyes. But she said nothing, following
her father into the house, with the slightest possible gesture to me.
Was it invitation or was it menace?

"The house was merely a light wooden frame, covered with some
waterproof stuff that looked like a mixture of