d have deliberately hunched his
shoulders, turned his back, and read his paper. But his education was in
sure hands. He had made rapid progress since the day before.

He leant a little towards his critic and said gravely:

"Pray accept my apologies for the omission! To tell you the truth, I was
not watching the progress of the cookery."

The girl nodded as if appeased.

"You can come and sit at this table," she said, indicating a chair
opposite to her. "I guess you know my cousin Bert Seton."

"What makes you guess that?" Merefleet inquired, changing his seat as
directed.

She looked at him with a little smile of superior knowledge. "I guess
lots," she said, but proffered no explanation of her shrewd conclusion.

Young Seton greeted Merefleet with less cordiality than he had displayed
on the previous evening. There was a suggestion of caution in his manner
that created a somewhat unfavourable impression in Merefleet's mind.

Already he was beginning to wonder how these two came to be thus isolated
in the forgotten little town of Old Silverstrand. It was not a natural
state of affairs. Neither the girl with her marvellous beauty, nor the
man with his peculiar concentration of purpose, was a fitting figure for
such a background. They were out of place--most noticeably so.

Merefleet was the very last man to make observations of such a
description. But this was a matter so obvious and so undeniably strange
that it forced itself upon him half against his will. He became strongly
aware that Seton did not desire his presence in the boat with him and his
cousin. He did not fathom the objection. But its existence was not to be
ignored. And Merefleet wondered a little, as he cast about in his mind
for a suitable excuse wherewith to decline the girl's invitation.

"It's very good of you to ask me to accompany you, Miss Ward," he said
presently. "But I know that Quiller the younger is under the impression
that I have engaged him to row me out of the harbour and bring me back
again. And I don't see very well how I can cancel the engagement."

Miss Ward nudged her cousin at this speech.

"Oh, if he isn't just quaint!" she said. "Look here, Bert! You're running
this show. Tell Mr. Merefleet it's all fixed up, and if he won't come
along with us he won't go at all, as we've got Quiller's boat!"

Seton glanced up, slightly frowning.

"My dear Mab," he said, "allow Mr. Merefleet to please himself! The fact
that you are wil