eautiful as golden dreams, or hideous as nightmares, when the
moon had shone as it did now.

As he made a quick turn about a rocky obstruction in his rapid path, he
came almost full upon two others, a man and a woman. On the yielding
sand his footfalls had made no sound, and they were unaware of his
sudden approach. Donald stopped, and stepped hastily back out of sight;
but not before he had seen the man's arms gather the slender form of the
girl in close embrace, and seen her lift her sweet young
face--tear-bejeweled, but smiling with the tenderness of love--for his
kiss.

With the rocks put between him and the two, Donald stood for a moment
with clenched fists pressed brutally against his eyes as though to grind
out the picture recorded there. Then, with blind but nervous strides, he
fled from the spot which, at the one time, held such happiness and such
despair.

It was close to midnight when his steps bore him instinctively back to
the unlighted house; but this time the exercise and the cool night air
had failed to bring relief to his heart. He could not face the idea of
tossing for hours on a sleepless bed, and so passed the front door and
seated himself within the dark shadows of a corner of the piazza.

"Chirr-r-p, chirr-r-p, chirr-r-p," began a pleasantly shrill little
voice beneath him. Over and over it repeated the sound, until the man's
feverish imagination had made it into "cheer-up," and he cursed the
cricket for its silly advice. So busy was his mind with introspection
that he did not hear the door open gently, and the first intimation that
he was not alone was brought to him by the sound of a light footstep
directly behind him. He turned his head, and saw a dim, ethereally white
figure,--Rose.

"I thought that you would never come, Donald," she whispered, as she
sank down close by his side on Muriel's little stool, and laid her cool
hand on his fevered one. "I have been watching from my window for an
hour. I couldn't go to sleep until I had told you something."

With an effort he answered evenly, "I ... I think that I know what it
is, Rose."

"You know? But how ...?"

"I saw you ... and Philip, on the beach," he replied, dully.

"You saw ... Oh! And you heard what ...?"

"No. I went away at once, of course. But I did not need to hear. I ... I
am glad if you are happy, Smiles."

She was silent for a long moment; then whispered with a note of joy in
her low voice that wrung his heart, "Yes, I