, the Son of the Morning, was coming forth.
She scarcely noticed that Mrs. Darlington was with him. Her face was
suddenly so radiant that the others turned to look. He saw them. Now he
would come to her--show them how it was between them!

But he did no such thing. He bowed, a trifle absently, and passed within
a few feet of them--near enough for them to hear him say:

"Paula, ever young and ever fair!"

They also saw the ravishing look she threw him.

"What a handsome man!" exclaimed Agnes.

"Lady-killer, I bet you," jeered Percy.

"Come on, Agnes, let's go for that walk on the beach," cried Isabelle.

She started off almost before any one understood her purpose.

"Hi there! are you trailing me behind?" called Percy.

"No," said Isabelle, shortly.

Agnes hurried after her, and when they had tramped the beach for a
while, they sat down in the sand. Agnes remembered that Isabelle was
"queer," but there was something passionate about the way she threw
herself into their reminiscences, that struck her as unnecessary. They
spoke of Mrs. Benjamin, with tears on Agnes's part. She told of Mr.
Benjamin's pitiful efforts to go on with the school. He had been forced
to give up the struggle, and Agnes lamented the necessity of going to a
new school when she returned to New York.

"Now tell me about you," she demanded. "Why are you out of school?"

"I hated the school they sent me to last year, so this year I struck and
went on the stage for a while."

"Why, Isabelle Bryce!" cried her friend, thrilled to the bone.

"But I didn't like it; it made me sick. So I, too came down here to get
well."

She evaded questions on the subject of her stage career, and after some
desultory talk they went back to the hotel. People were strolling to the
beach for the bathing hour.

"Let's find Percy and go in," said Agnes.

Isabelle, having agreed to meet them on the beach, hurried off to
change. Miss Watts went down to the sea with her; she did not wait for
Agnes and Percy. She struck out for the farther raft. There was one a
hundred feet from shore, and one farther out, for expert swimmers. She
had just passed the former when she became aware of some one in her
wake, some one coming with speed. She slowed up a little.

"What do ye mean by swimmin' off alone like this?" demanded a well-known
voice. She made no answer, but she did not increase her speed. He came
up beside her. "This is plain childish folly, that's what it is," h