r glistened with silvery radiance,
and, looking over the wide expanse, he could see dark trees etched
faintly on the blue horizon. Ahead, the lights of Three Rivers
twinkled among square, black blocks of houses and tall sawmill stacks.

A few passengers were strolling about, but the English newspaper had
made Blake restless, and he wanted to be alone. Descending to a
quieter deck, he was surprised to see the girl he had assisted sitting
in a canvas chair near the rail. Nearby stood several large baskets,
from which rose an angry snarling.

"What is this?" he asked, with the careless abruptness which usually
characterized him. "With your permission."

He raised a lid, while the girl watched him with amusement.

"Looks like a menagerie on a small scale," he remarked. "Are these
animals yours?"

"No; they belong to Mrs. Keith."

"Mrs. Keith?" he said sharply. "The lady I saw at the Frontenac, with
the autocratic manners? It's curious, but she reminds me of somebody I
knew, and the name's the same. I wonder----"

He broke off, and Millicent Graham studied him as he stood in the
moonlight. She did not think he recognized her, and perhaps he was
hardly justified in supposing that his timely aid at the gangway
dispensed with the need for an introduction, but she liked his looks,
which she remembered well. She had no fear of this man's presuming too
far; and his surprise when she mentioned Mrs. Keith, had roused her
interest.

"Yes," she said; "I believe it was my employer you knew."

He did not follow this lead.

"Are you supposed to sit up all night and watch the animals for her?"
he asked.

"Only for an hour or two. The steamboat people refused to have them in
the saloon, and the maid should have relieved me. She was tired,
however, with packing and running errands all day, and I thought I'd
let her sleep a while."

"Then it can't be much of an intrusion if I try to make you more
comfortable. Let me move your chair nearer the deckhouse, where you'll
be out of the wind; but I'll first see if I can find another rug."

He left her without waiting for a reply, and, returning with a rug,
placed her chair in a sheltered spot; then he leaned against the
railing.

"So you are Mrs. Keith's companion," he observed. "It strikes me as
rather unfeeling of her to keep you here in the cold." He indicated
the baskets. "But what's her object in buying these creatures?"

"Caprice," Millicent smiled. "Some