what was her future to be? Was she suddenly to be snatched
back into her rightful sphere, the ties that linked her with the
present snapped asunder, and a new world with the myriad opportunities
she had until now been denied placed within her reach? That was the
query that agitated the minds of the silent thinkers who sped along the
Harbor Road.

Sunset was gilding the water, kissing the sands into rosy warmth and
casting glints of vermilion over the low buildings at the mouth of the
bay, where windows flashed forth a flaming reflection of fire. The
peace of approaching twilight brooded over the village. Little boats,
like homing doves, came flying across the vast expanse of waves, their
sails a splendor of copper in the fading light. With the hush of night
the breeze died into stillness until scarce a leaf of the
weather-beaten poplars stirred. From the tangle of roses, sweet fern
and bayberry that overgrew the fields the note of a thrush rose clear
on the quiet air. A whirling bevy of gulls circled the bar, left naked
and opalescent by the receding tide. Peace was everywhere, divine
peace, save in the breasts of those who gazed only to find a mockery in
the surrounding tranquillity.

Robert Morton's face was stern in meditation. How was this mighty
transformation in Delight's fortunes to affect the hopes he fostered?
To wed the daughter of a humble fisherman was a different matter from
offering a penniless future to the grand-daughter of the stately Madam
Lee. Even when the possibility of marriage with Cynthia had loomed in
his path, his pride had rebelled at the financial inequality of the
match. He did not wish to be patronized, to come empty-handed to a
princess whose hands were full. The thought had been a galling one.
And now once again he was in a similar position. Of course, Madam Lee
and the Galbraiths would desire to make good the past; he knew them
well enough for that. Delight would be elevated to the same plane with
Cynthia, and he would be faced with the old irritating inferiority of
fortune. Moreover, in her recently acquired station, the lady of his
dreams might scorn such a humble suitor. Who could tell? Wealth
worked great changes in individuals sometimes, and at best human nature
was a frail, assailable, and incalculable factor. Furthermore the girl
had never pledged him her love. There had been no spoken word between
them. The vision that had made a Utopia of his world had been