of consideration for your father," he assured
her.

She frowned.

"My father?" she repeated. "Please explain at once what you mean. My
father is on that yacht and I cannot imagine why he does not return."

"I can tell you," he answered, standing by her side and looking out
seawards. "They are waiting for my orders before they let him off."

She turned her head and looked at him incredulously.

"Explain yourself, please," she insisted.

"With pleasure," he assented. "You see, I just had to make sure of being
allowed to have a few minutes' conversation with you, free from any
interruption. Somehow or other," he added thoughtfully, "I don't believe
your father likes me."

"I do not think," she replied coldly, "that my father has any feelings
about you at all, except that he thinks you are abominably
presumptuous."

"Because I want to marry you?"

She stamped with her foot upon the ground.

"Please do not say such absurd things! Explain to me at once what you
mean by saying that my father is being kept there by your orders."

"I'll try," Lane answered. "He boarded that yacht last night in mistake.
He thought that it was a hired one, but it isn't. It's mine. I found him
there last night, entertaining a little party of his friends in the
saloon. They seemed quite comfortable, so I begged them to remain on as
my guests for a short time."

"To remain?" she murmured, bewildered. "For how long?"

"Until you've just read this through and thought it over."

He passed her a document which he had drawn from his pocket. She took it
from him wonderingly. When she had read a few lines, the colour came
streaming into her cheeks. She threw it to the ground. He picked it up
and replaced it in his pocket.

"But it is preposterous!" she cried. "That is a marriage license!"

"That's precisely what it is," he admitted. "I thought we'd be married
at Nice. My sister is waiting to go along with us. I said we'd pick her
up at the Hotel de Paris."

Severe critics of her undoubted beauty had ventured at times to say that
Fedora's face lacked expression. There was, at that moment, no room for
any such criticism. Amazement struggled with indignation in her eyes.
Her lips were quivering, her breath was coming quickly.

"Do you mean--have you given her or any one to understand that there was
any likelihood of my consenting to such an absurd scheme?"

"I only told her what I hoped," he said quietly. "That is all I dared
say even t