white bread. She was glad to see him eat
heartily. She prepared his salad with a dash of salt and pepper, a
little vinegar and oil. That much, at least, she was at liberty to do
for him. It gave her a new pleasure.

"Monte," she asked, "do you suppose it's always as nice as this here?"

"If it were, would you like to stay?" he asked.

She thought a moment over that. Would it be possible just to drift on
day after day, with Monte always a fairy prince beside her? She
glanced up and met his eyes.

"I--I guess it's best to follow our schedule," she decided, with a
little gasp.

CHAPTER XIII

A WEDDING JOURNEY (_continued_)

Through the golden sunshine and beneath the blue sky, they went on the
next day, until with a nod she chose her place to stop for lunch, until
with another nod, as the sun was getting low, she chose her place to
stop for the night. This time they did not ask to know even the name
of the village. It was his suggestion.

"Because," he explained, "that makes it seem as if we were trying to
get somewhere. And we are n't, are we?"

"Wherever we are, we are," she nodded gayly.

"It is n't even important that we get to Etois," he insisted.

"Not in the slightest," she agreed. "Only, if we keep on going we'll
get to the sea, won't we?"

"Then we can either skirt the shore or take a boat and cross the sea.
It's all one."

"All one! You make me feel as if I had wings."

"Then you're happy?"

"Very, very happy, Monte. And you?"

"Yes," he answered abruptly.

She had no reason to doubt it. That night, as she sat alone in her
room, she reviewed this day in order to satisfy herself on this point;
for she felt a certain obligation. He had given to her so generously
that the least she in her turn could do was to make sure that he was
comfortable and content. That, all his life, was the most he had asked
for. It was the most he asked for now. He must wake each morning free
of worries, come down to a good breakfast and find his coffee hot, have
a pleasant time of it during the day without being bored, and end with
a roast and salad and later a good bed. These were simple
desires--thoroughly wholesome, normal desires. With the means at his
command, with the freedom from restraint that had been his ever since
he left college, it was a great deal to his credit that he had been
able to retain such modest tastes. He had been at liberty to choose
what he wished, and he had chos