*

There was scarcely sufficient breeze of a steady character to bring
Kemper to Sting-ray Key; but he got out his sweeps when I hailed him and
came in at a lively clip, anchoring alongside of our boat and leaping
ashore with that unnecessary dash and abandon which women find pleasing.

Glancing sideways at my waitress through my spectacles, I found her
looking into a small hand mirror and patting her hair with one slim and
suntanned hand.

When Professor Kemper landed on the coral he shot a curious look at Grue,
and then came striding across the reef to me.

"Hello, Smithy!" he said, holding out his hand. "Here I am, you see! Now
what's up--"

Just then Evelyn Grey got up from her seat beside the fire; and Kemper
turned and gazed at her with every symptom of unfeigned approbation.

I introduced him. Evelyn Grey seemed a trifle indifferent. A good-looking
man doesn't last long with a clever woman. I smiled to myself, polishing
my spectacles gleefully. Yet, I had no idea why I was smiling.

We three people turned and walked toward the comb of the reef. A solitary
palm represented the island's vegetation, except, of course, for the
water-growing mangroves.

I asked Miss Grey to precede us and wait for us under the palm;
and she went forward in that light-footed way of hers which, to any
non-scientific man, might have been a trifle disturbing. It had no effect
upon me. Besides, I was looking at Grue, who had gone to the fire and was
evidently preparing to fry our evening meal of fish and rice. I didn't
like to have him cook, but I wasn't going to do it myself; and my pretty
waitress didn't know how to cook anything more complicated than beans.
We had no beans.

Kemper said to me:

"Why on earth did you bring a waitress?"

"Not to wait on table," I replied, amused. "I'll explain her later.
Meanwhile, I merely want to say that you need not remain with this
expedition if you don't want to. It's optional with you."

"That's a funny thing to say!"

"No, not funny; sad. The truth is that if I fail I'll be driven into
obscurity by the ridicule of my brother scientists the world over. I had
to tell them at the Bronx what I was going after. Every man connected
with the society attempted to dissuade me, saying that the whole thing
was absurd and that my reputation would suffer if I engaged in such a
ridiculous quest. So when you hear what that girl and I are after out
here in the semi-tropics, and when you are in po