irling clouds: your nose, your chin, the lips so shyly smiling. And if
through the clouds a pair of stars would break, I'd mark them for your
shining eyes, Marie."

"Poetry again, Andie!" She was laughing, but also she was melting under
his eyes.

"If that's poetry, then I'm losing respect for it. It's a weak thing,
Marie, and----"

"Sh-h--if somebody should be walking on the beach!"

"Let them, sweetheart. It's a fine night for a walk. What harm is
truth?"

"But I don't want all the world to hear, Andie. For my poor heart was
aching, too, Andie, and now it wants it all to itself, Andie mine."

* * * * *

It was taps on the battle-fleet. Over the mellowing, detaining waters of
the bay the long-drawn bugles echoed. Good night, good ni-i-ght,
g-o-o-d-n-i-g-h-t--they said, and gently, softly, whisperingly died
away.

"He's asleep at last." Welkie was standing in the door. "And I don't
know but we'd all better be getting to sleep, too. For to-morrow
morning, you know, we--Wha-at!"

His friend was standing before him. "Shunt care for the morrow, Greg.
Greater things than have happened are happening around you. The dream of
years has come to pass. And we--we, Greg----"

He looked to her, and tremulous, vivid, she came, and with her at his
side he was himself again. "Marie is to take me for Sonnie-Boy's uncle,
and, Greg, we want your blessing."

TIM RILEY'S TOUCH

"A man outside--says his name's Riley," announced the youth who guarded
the outer door. "A big husky!" he added when he saw the chairman did not
look pleased.

The state chairman nodded round the table. "This is that new man the
senator's been talking about." From a neat pile of letters the chairman
picked out one.

"Here is what he sent in the other day. From it you can obtain an idea
of the calibre of the man. Listen: 'As you ask me what I think about the
crowd up here, I'll say that I think they've had their own way so long
they've got to where they figure they don't have to make good. They seem
to think that to be in politics is to be trying to fool everybody. They
would rather--the most of them--get ten votes by faking than a hundred
by straightforward work. They don't seem to see that nowadays people
know more about the inside of things than they used to--that they're
doing more thinking for themselves in political matters.'

"And"--the chairman reinserted the letter in the neat pile--"there's
more dro