at this man will never speak a word of what has
happened. So you may rest easy."

"And what do you think of himself?"

"He is a great man."

"And a good one."

"A true Knight of St. Louis."

"A friend of his countrymen."

"Yes. I admire his generosity and magnanimity, and I admire the
wonderful instinct of Zulma Sarpy who gauged him so well that she wrung
his liberation from me."

When Pauline descended from her private apartments after a long day's
rest, and was made acquainted with so much of the sailor's visit as
concerned herself, she was deeply moved, and the more that she observed
her father's intense gratification. The whole episode imparted a
happiness to that house such as it had not enjoyed for many days
previous, and such as it was not destined to enjoy later.

IX.

PAULINE'S DEVELOPMENT.

Insensibly a change was coming over Pauline. The sharp, varied
experiences of the past month had a decisive schooling influence upon
her. It is often the case that simple untutored natures like her develop
more rapidly in days of crisis than characters fashioned of sterner
material. There is no preliminary work of undoing to be gone through.
The ground is ready prepared for strong and lasting impressions. The
process of creation is hampered by no obstacles. There is, on the
contrary, a latent spontaneity which accelerates its action.

Pauline herself was hardly conscious of this change. At least she could
not formulate it in words, or even enumerate its phases by any system of
analysis, but there were moments when her mind surged with feelings
which she knew that she had never felt before, and she caught herself
framing visions whose very vagueness of outline swelled before her like
the shadows of a portent. At times, too, through these mists there
flashed illuminations which startled her, and made her innocent heart
shrink as if they were presentiments of doom.

She had seen so much, she had heard so much, she had learned so much
during these eventful weeks. The old peaceful life was gone, and it
seemed ever so far away. She was certain that it would never return
again. Amid her trouble, there was even a tinge of pleasure in this
assurance. That was, at least, one thing of which she was positive. All
else was so doubtful, the future appeared so capricious, her fate and
the fate of those she loved was shrouded in such mystery.

On the evening of the day on which occurred the incidents related in
th