ver-effusive--and a
few minutes of general conversation followed. Then Captain Jerry, in
accordance with his plan of campaign, laid down his newspaper, coughed
emphatically to attract the attention of his partner, and said, "Well, I
guess I'll go out and look at the weather for a spell. Come on, Perez."

"Why, Captain Jerry!" exclaimed Elsie, "you were out looking at the
weather only ten minutes ago. I don't think it has changed much since
then. Why don't you stay here and keep us company?"

"Oh, you can't never tell about the weather 'long this coast. It's
likely to change most any time. Besides," with a wink that expressed
comprehension unlimited, "I reckon you and Mr. Hazeltine don't care much
'bout the company of old fogies like me and Perez. Two's company and
three's a crowd, you know. Ho, ho, ho!"

"Captain Jerry, come back this minute!"

But the Captain chuckled and shook out of the door, followed by the
obedient Perez, who, having pledged fealty, stuck to his colors whatever
might happen.

At another time, Elsie would probably have appreciated and enjoyed the
joke as much as anyone, but this evening it did not appeal to her in
the least. Ralph put in a very uncomfortable half-hour, and then cut his
visit short and departed. It was rather sharp and chilly outside,
but the breeze felt like a breath from the tropics compared with the
atmosphere of that dining room.

It certainly was Captain Jerry's unlucky evening, for he left Perez
chatting with a fisherman friend, who had left a favorite pipe in his
shanty and had come down to get it, and entered the house alone. He had
seen the electrician go, and was surprised at the brevity of his call,
but he was as far from suspecting that he himself was the indirect cause
of the said brevity as a mortal could be.

He came into the dining room, hung his cap on the back of a chair, and
remarked cheerfully, "Well, Elsie, what did you send your company home
so quick for? Land sake! twelve o'clock wa'n't none too late for me when
I was young and goin' round to see the girls."

But Miss Preston did not smile. On the contrary, she frowned, and when
she spoke the Captain had a vague feeling that someone had dropped an
icicle inside his shirt collar.

"Captain Jerry," said the young lady, "I want to have a talk with you.
Why do you think it necessary to get up and leave the room whenever Mr.
Hazeltine calls? You do it every time, and to-night was no exception,
except that