y
for you; but, then, it is lonely for Mr. Langley and the other men,
too."

"I doubt if Mr. Langley would be happy anywhere else, and the other men
are married, most of them, and live over in the village."

Now, there isn't any real reason why this simple remark should have
caused a halt in the conversation, but it did. Miss Preston said, "Oh,
indeed!" rather hurriedly, and her next speech was concerning the height
of a particularly big wave. Mr. Hazeltine answered this commonplace
somewhat absent-mindedly. He acted like a man to whom a startling idea
had suddenly occurred. Just then they heard Captain Eri calling them.

The Captain was standing on a sand dune near the station, shouting their
names through a speaking trumpet formed by placing his hands about his
mouth. As the pair came strolling toward him, he shifted his hands to
his trousers pockets and stood watching the young couple with a sort of
half smile.

"I s'pose if Jerry was here now," he mused, "he'd think his scheme was
workin'. Well, maybe 'tis, maybe 'tis. You can't never tell. Well, I
swan!"

The exclamation was called forth by the sight of Captain Perez and Miss
Patience, who suddenly came into view around the corner of the station.
The Captain was gallantly assisting his companion over the rough places
in the path, and she was leaning upon his arm in a manner that implied
implicit confidence. Captain Eri glanced from one couple to the other,
and then grinned broadly. The grin had not entirely disappeared when
Captain Perez came up, and the latter rather crisply asked what the joke
was.

"Oh, nothin'!" was the reply. "I was jest thinkin' we must be playin'
some kind of a game, and I was It."

"It?" queried Miss Patience, puzzled.

"Why, yes. I'm kinder like 'Rastus Bailey used to be at the dances
when you and me was younger, Perez. Old man Alexander--he was the
fiddler--used to sing out 'Choose partners for Hull's Vict'ry,' or
somethin' like that, and it always took 'Ras so long to make up his mind
what girl to choose that he gin'rally got left altogether. Then he'd
set on the settee all through the dance and say he never cared much for
Hull's Vict'ry, anyway. Seems to me, I'm the only one that ain't choosed
partners. How 'bout it, Perez?"

"More fool you, that's all I've got to say," replied Captain Perez
stoutly.

Miss Patience laughed so heartily at this rejoinder that Perez began
to think he had said a very good thing indeed, and so