nwelcome swain, her boarder, so close that she could
have touched him. And her gaze upon him was like arctic snowblink: an
odd look in pretty young eyes.

"You've no right to force yourself upon me in this way," said she. "You
must get out of my boat at once."

"Oh, no, I mustn't, Carlisle. That's where you make--mistake. You've put
me off--too often. Now--the time's come."

"You must be out of your senses. This is outrageous. I insist--I demand
that you get out of my boat _immediately_."

"When d' ju--listen when I--demanded?"

His heavy resoluteness reduced her suddenly to the weakness of saying:
"A gentleman wouldn't do such a thing.... You will regret this."

"Man," said Dalhousie, with the same labored slowness, "comes before
gen'leman. An' the regrets--will be yours. I've come--to have a talk."

In the momentary silence, the drip, drip from his bathing-suit became
very audible. The lad leaked like a sieve, all over her boat. Miss Heth
glanced swiftly and vexedly from him, over the unchanged panorama. Empty
water lapping empty beach; no one watching. Only now, in the sky over
the station, there hung a haze of train-smoke....

Her eyes came back: and now she observed with some girlish anxiety the
young man's unwonted solemnity, the strange brilliance of his eyes. A
certain nervousness began to show through her cold calm: her unconscious
hand wound the taut sheet round and round the tiller, an injudicious
business in view of the gusty breeze. How to be rid most quickly of the
interloper?... She might, of course, put ashore with him: but she
particularly did not care to do that, and have all the piazza loungers
and gossips see her in his somewhat too gay company. Most particularly
she did not care to have her mother glance out of her upstairs window
and be stunned by the same sight, with apoplectic cross-examination to
follow ...

"Jack," said Carlisle Heth, hurriedly, in rather a coaxing sort of
voice, "if you will leave me now, I will--I promise to see you in town
next week."

A flicker touched Dalhousie's eyelid; but he said huskily, after a
pause: "Promise? What's your promise worth? You've promised me before.
You said--you loved--"

"I can't talk now. But on Monday afternoon--in the park--or at my
house--whichever you prefer ... I--I'll explain. I give you my word
of honor--"

"No! You've done that before--too. Explain! Howc'n you explain? Go on.
Try now. Why've you--refused to see me? Why--"

Re