tening to a word I am saying!"

"I beg your pardon! But I warned you that my Italian was rusty." He
pulled himself together.

"But I have been rattling away in English!"

"And I have been wool-gathering."

"Not at all complimentary to me."

"It is because I am very unhappy; it is because Tantalus and I are
brothers."

"You should have the will to throw off these moods."

"My moods, as you call them, are not like hats and coats."

"I wish I could make you forget."

"On the contrary, the sight of you makes memory all the keener."

He had never spoken like that before. It rather subdued her, made her
regret that she had surrendered to a vanity that was without aim or
direction. Farthest from her thought was conquest of the man. She did
not wish to hurt him. She was not a coquette.

After dinner he did not suggest the usual promenade. Instead, he
excused himself and went below.

They arrived at Penang early Monday morning. Elsa decided that
Warrington should take her and Martha on a personally conducted tour of
the pretty town. As they left for shore he produced a small beautiful
blue feather; he gave it to Elsa with the compliments of Rajah; and she
stuck it in the pugree of her helmet.

"This is not from the dove of peace."

"Its arch-enemy, rather," he laughed. "I wish I had the ability to get
as furious as that bird. It might do me a world of good."

"How long is it since you were here?"

"Four years," he answered without enthusiasm. He would not have come
ashore at all but for the fact that Elsa had ordered the expedition.

There was no inclination to explore the shops; so they hired a landau
and rode about town, climbed up to the quaint temple in the hills, and
made a tour of the botanical gardens.

"Isn't it delicious!" murmured Elsa, taking in deep breaths of the warm
spice-laden air. Since her visit to the wonderful gardens at Kandy in
Ceylon, she had found a new interest in plants and trees.

She thoroughly enjoyed the few hours on land, even to the powwow
Warrington had with the unscrupulous driver, who, at the journey's end,
substituted one price for another, despite his original bargain. It
was only a matter of two shillings, but Warrington stood firm. It had
of necessity become a habit with him to haggle and then to stand firm
upon the bargain made. There had been times when half an hour's
haggling had meant breakfast or no breakfast. It never entered into
his mind wh