glance at
a table over the way, where several newly landed females were screaming
over the witticisms of a brace of downy lipped youths, who were under
the impression the whole room was hanging upon their words. "I only
hope they don't represent the sort of people we shall have to put up
with if we stay here."

"Don't you be alarmed about that, Mrs Bateman," said the man on her
right. "That stamp of Britisher doesn't stay here. It melts off into
boarding-houses and situations in Cape Town or Johannesburg. Just rolls
up here because it's the thing to run out to Cogill's and have tiffin
first thing on landing; at least, so it thinks. It'll all have
disappeared by to-night."

"That's a comfort, anyway, if we do stay. What do you think of this
place, Nidia?"

"I think it'll do. Those views of the mountain we got coming along in
the train were perfectly lovely. And then it seems so leafy and cool.
You can get about from here, too, can't you, Mr Moseley?"

"Oh yes, anywhere. Any amount of trains and trams. And I expect you'll
wear out the roads with that bike of yours, Miss Commerell."

"By the way, I wonder if they brought our bicycles from the station?"
said the other of the two ladies. "You saw them last, Nidia."

"Yes. They are all right. They were standing outside when we came in."

Now, utterly workaday and commonplace as all this was, not a word of it
escaped the silent stranger. This girl, seated at his right, had
riveted his attention from the moment she came in, and indeed there was
that about Nidia Commerell's face which was likely to exercise such an
effect. It had a way of lighting up--a sudden lifting of the eyelashes,
the breaking into a half smile, revealing a row of teeth beautifully
even and white. She had blue eyes, and her hair, which was neither
brown nor golden, but something between, curled in soft natural waves
along the brow, dispensing with the necessity of any attempt at a
fringe; and her colouring was of that warm richness which gave the idea
that Nature had at first intended her for a brunette, then got puzzled,
and finally had given her up in hopeless despair, which was perhaps the
best thing that could have happened, for the result was about as dainty,
refined, alluring a specimen of young womanhood as the jaded glance of
the discriminating male could wish to rest upon.

This, at any rate, was the mental verdict of the stranger, and for this
reason he hailed with inward