ho kept his eye fixed alternately on the water and on his compass.
There seemed to be no regulation against speaking to this "man at the
wheel," or if there were, it was not strictly regarded; for two young
ladies, who were already ensconced in one corner of the long seat, were
plying him with all manner of questions.

They were rather pretty girls of that hard modern type which carries the
air of knowing everything worth the knowing, having a right to
everything worth the having, and being fully determined to claim that
right to its fullest extent. As Candace entered, they favored her with
one rapid, scrutinizing glance that took in every detail of her apparel,
from the goat-skin boots which were too large for her feet to the round
hat whose every bow bore witness to a country milliner, and after that
they noticed her no more.

She, for her part, only too glad to be left unnoticed, looked shyly out
of the corners of her eyes at them. They seemed to her inexpressibly
stylish; for their tailor-made suits, though almost as plain as her own
dress and jacket of blue alpaca, had that perfect fit and finish which
makes the simplest dress seem all that can be desired. There was a
knowing look to each little detail, from the slender silver bangles
which appeared beneath the loose wrinkled wrists of their very long
gloves to the tortoise-shell pins with which their hats were fastened to
the tightly braided hair coiled low down on the nape of the neck.
Candace's hair fell in curls to her waist. She had always worn it so,
and no one had ever thought anything about it; but now, all in a moment,
she felt that it was wrong and improper.

"Been up to New York, Miss Joy?" said the Captain.

"No; only as far as the Junction, to meet a friend," replied the
prettier of the two girls. "Why weren't you on the boat this morning,
Captain?"

"I was on the boat. I never miss a trip, except sometimes the night one
in the summer-time, when the sleeping-train is a running. I don't always
come over in that. Let me see, how did I come to miss you to-day?"

"Oh, I sat in the ladies' cabin all the way, not on deck. But I didn't
see you when we landed."

"Well, I don't know how it happened, I'm sure. Are your folks down for
the season?"

"Yes: that is, mamma and I and my brother are here; my married sister
won't come till next month." Then she turned to her friend, but without
lowering her voice.

"You can't think how dull it's been, Ethel: