nto the water under the ship's side. Two
smiling stewards with mountainous portmanteaux followed the party.
"Mother, are Castor and Pollux all right?" cried the smallest child, and
promptly fell on his nose on the gangway, disrupting the file.

Stockton, with characteristic delicacy, refrained from making himself
known until the Vernes had recovered from the embarrassments of leaving
the ship. He followed them at a distance to the "V" section where they
waited for the customs examination. With mingled feelings he saw that
Finsbury Verne was no cloud-walking deity, but one even as himself,
indifferently clad, shy and perplexed of eye, worried with the comic
cares of a family man. All his heart warmed toward the poet, who stood
in his bulging greatcoat, perspiring and aghast at the uproar around
him. He shrank from imagining what might happen when he appeared at home
with the whole family, but without hesitation he approached and
introduced himself.

Verne's eyes shone with unaffected pleasure at the meeting, and he
presented the reviewer to his wife and the children, two boys and two
girls. The two boys, aged about ten and eight, immediately uttered
cryptic remarks which Stockton judged were addressed to him.

"Castorian!" cried the larger boy, looking at the yellow suit.

"Polluxite!" piped the other in the same breath.

Mrs. Verne, in some embarrassment, explained that the boys were in the
throes of a new game they had invented on the voyage. They had created
two imaginary countries, named in honour of the goldfish, and it was now
their whim to claim for their respective countries any person or thing
that struck their fancy. "Castoria was first," said Mrs. Verne, "so you
must consider yourself a citizen of that nation."

Somewhat shamefaced at this sudden honour, Mr. Stockton turned to the
poet. "You're all coming home with me, aren't you?" he said. "I got your
telegram this morning. We'd be delighted to have you."

"It's awfully good of you," said the poet, "but as a matter of fact
we're going straight on to the country to-morrow morning. My wife has
some relatives in Yonkers, wherever they are, and she and the children
are going to stay with them. I've got to go up to Harvard to give some
lectures."

A rush of cool, sweet relief bathed Stockton's brow.

"Why, I'm disappointed you're going right on," he stammered. "Mrs.
Stockton and I were hoping--"

"My dear fellow, we could never impose such a party on yo