he came
face to face with Allen Drew.

She had turned the corner of the deck house, and they had almost
collided. She stepped back, startled, and Drew collected his scattered
wits sufficiently to lift his hat and apologize.

"I--I beg your pardon," he stammered. "I ought to have been more
careful."

"Oh, it was my fault entirely," she answered graciously. "I shouldn't
have turned the corner so sharply."

What next he might have said Drew never knew, for just then there came
a heavy step and the sound of a jovial voice behind him, and Captain
Hamilton's hand was grasping his.

"So you did manage to come over and get a look at the beauty, did you?
What do you think of her?"

"The most beautiful thing I've ever seen!" answered Drew fervently.

He might have had a different beauty in mind from that which the
captain had, and perhaps this suspicion occurred to the girl, for the
flush in her cheek became slightly more pronounced. But the
unsuspecting captain was hugely gratified at the tribute, though
somewhat surprise at its ardor.

A glance from the girl reminded the captain of a duty he had overlooked.

"I was forgetting that you two hadn't met," he said. "Drew, this is my
daughter, Miss Hamilton. Ruth, this is Mr. Allen Drew, the young man
I've been telling you so much about lately."

They acknowledged the introduction and for one fleeting, delicious
moment her soft hand rested in his.

So she was Captain Hamilton's daughter! Her name was not Adams! What
a blind trail he had been following!

But Drew's thoughts were interrupted by the girl's voice.

"We have met before, Daddy," Ruth said with a smile. "Don't you
remember my telling you about the young man who came to my aid that day
when I went on an errand for you to the _Normandy_? You remember--the
day I dropped the letters over the side? That was Mr. Drew."

"You don't say!" exclaimed the captain. "And here we've been seeing
each other every day or so and I've never thanked him. Drew, consider
yourself thanked by a grateful father."

They all laughed, and then the captain put his hand on the young man's
shoulder.

"Come into the cabin and let's get that business settled. You'll
excuse us, won't you, Ruth?" he added, turning to his daughter. "We've
got a hundred things to do yet, and we can't afford to lose a minute."

Ruth smilingly assented, and Drew was dragged off, raging internally,
his only comfort being the glance she gave hi