erfect. He was a very pattern of
gallantry]

The old Captain was perfect. He was dressed in his very best
clothes--his longest-tailed coat--and wore a flower in his buttonhole,
and he told us the most surprising stories of his early life. He was
also a very pattern of gallantry, and in several passages with Harriet
decidedly got the worst of it.

How I love such moments--as perfect as anything in this life of ours;
friends all about, and good comradeship, and jolly stories, and lively
talk, and good things to eat. And surely never was there a finer evening
for just such a celebration. The cool spring air coming in across the
lilacs and heavy with the scent of them, the shaded lamp, the occasional
friendly sounds from the street, and finally, and to the amazement of us
all, the town clock striking twelve. What a beautiful and wonderful
thing life is!

[Illustration]

CHAPTER XXI

STARLIGHT

I scarcely know how he managed it--how does youth manage such
things--but almost before I knew what was going on, and while the
Captain and I were still in the tail-end of a discussion of the
administration of William McKinley, and Harriet was putting on her
wraps, Nort had gone out of the office with Anthy. We heard Nort laugh
as they were going down the steps.

"Never mind," said the old Captain, "let 'em go."

A few minutes later Fergus disappeared by way of the back door which led
from his room into the yard. I did not at the time connect the two
departures, did not, indeed, think of the matter at all, save to wonder
vaguely why the dependable Fergus should be leaving his home, which was
the printing-office, at that time of the night.

It was a wonderful night, starlit and very clear, with the cool, fresh
air full of the sweet prescience of spring. It was still, too, in the
town, and once a little outside the fields and hills and groves took
upon themselves a haunting mystery and beauty.

So often and wistfully has my memory dwelt upon the incidents of that
night that I seem now to live more vividly in the lives of Nort and
Anthy--with Fergus crouching in the meadows behind--than I do in my own
barren thoughts.

Exaltation of mood affected Nort and Anthy quite differently. It set
Nort off, made him restless, eager, talkative, but it made Anthy the
more silent. It glowed from her eyes and expressed itself in the odd
tense little gesture she had--of one hand lifted to her breast.

"Most wonderful time that e