d as setting him apart from the rest. He
was a little more quiet than most of them, and there were a certain
steadiness in his eyes, and a faint hardness in the lines of his face,
which roused her interest. He had been up against it, as they say in
that country, which is a thing that usually leaves its mark upon a
man. It endues him with control, and, above all, with comprehension.

"Oh," he said, "a man not burdened with money is now and then forced
to wander. He naturally picks up a few impressions here and there. I
wonder if you find it chilly sitting here?"

The girl rose, with a little laugh. "That," she said, "was evidently
meant to afford me an opportunity. I think I should like to go down to
the Inlet."

Nasmyth, who understood this as an invitation, went with her, and,
five minutes later, they strolled out upon the crown of the bluff,
down the side of which a little path wound precipitously. Nasmyth held
his hand out at the head of it, and they went down together
cautiously, until they stood on the smooth white shingle close by
where the little steamer lay. The girl looked about her with a smile
of appreciation.

A lane of dusky water, that heaved languidly upon the pebbles, ran
inland past them under the dark rock's side, and it was very still in
the shadow of the climbing firs. On the further shore a flood of
silvery radiance, against which the dark branches cut black as ebony,
streamed down into the rift, and beyond the rocky gateway there was
brilliant moonlight on the smooth heave of sea. The girl glanced at it
longingly, and then, though she said nothing, her eyes rested on a
little beautifully modelled cedar canoe that lay close by. In another
moment Nasmyth had laid his hands on it, and she noticed how easily he
ran it down the beach, as she had noticed how steady of foot he was
when she held fast to his hand as they came down the bluff. With a
curious little smile that she remembered afterwards, he glanced
towards the shadowy rocks which shut in the entrance to the Inlet.

"Shall we go and see what there is out yonder beyond those gates?" he
asked.

"Ah," replied the girl, "what could there be? Aren't you taking an
unfair advantage in appealing to our curiosity?"

Nasmyth made a whimsical gesture as he answered her, for he saw that
she could be fanciful, too. "Unsubstantial moonlight, glamour,
mystery--perhaps other things as well," he said. "If you are curious,
why shouldn't we go and see?"