, and a Catholic priest. As the young lady stood for a
moment conversing with the two admirers, her glance, in running over the
little steamer, encountered Mr. Townsend, and she nodded pleasantly.

"Lovely! Enchanting!" murmured the man from Africa.

"Of course she is! Come down, and I'll present you."

"But, first, tell me something about her. What are the interesting
facts?"

"Why, there's nothing to tell--that I can think of."

"Of course there is! There must be! Women like that don't bloom in every
garden. What a patrician type! And all that black hair! She is unusual."

"Well, she _is_ unusual, Pats. She is a splendid girl,--an orphan;
and she is giving her fortune all away."

"The devil! And to whom?"

"To philanthropy; to societies for the advancement of woman; to
hospitals and other bottomless pits. But above all to the Catholic
Church."

"Too bad! She doesn't look so unintelligent."

"No: and she is not. Her mother and sister, all that remained of her
family, were both drowned in the same accident, and the shock upset her
for a time."

"And it was then the Church got in its work? That explains the Holy
Roman Cherub who seems to be along."

"Yes; that's Father Burke. He is a part of the comedy."

"Comedy! It's a blood-curdling drama! Hasn't she a brother or some
relative to reach out a hand and save her?"

"She doesn't care to be saved. She is one of those women with a
conscience. A big one: the sort that becomes a disease unless taken in
time."

"I know. She feels guilty if she's happy. But she doesn't look all that.
She seems a trifle earnest, perhaps, but very human, and with real blood
in her veins."

Mr. Townsend sighed--a long, deep sigh that seemed to come from below
his waist. "Yes, she was mighty good company and rather jolly before the
vultures closed in on her."

"Is she really in the coils of the anaconda?"

"I am afraid so. She won't talk about it herself,--at least, not with
Protestants,--but some of her friends say she thinks of going into a
convent."

"Well," said Patrick Boyd, with a sudden warmth, as they turned to go
below, "all I can say is, that the institution, sacred or secular, that
tries to lure such a girl into a convent ought to be hustled into
space."

"Amen to that!"

[Illustration]

II

FROTH OF THE SEA

An hour later, as the _Maid of the North_ was steaming for the
open sea, the man from Africa and his new acquaintance formed a group on
t