she was afraid of
making them more obvious for fear that she would frighten him away. He
thought it the most natural thing in the world that he and Mildred
should live together like brother and sister, and be very fond of each
other as "sich," whilst she thought him--just what he was--the
blindest of fools, and then loved him the more for his folly. The
sisterly relationship did not possess the same charms for Mildred that
it did for Arthur; they looked at matters from different points of
view.

One morning, peeping through a big telescope that was fixed in the
window of the little boudoir which formed an entrance lobby to the
museum, Mrs. Carr saw a cloud of smoke upon the horizon. Presently the
point of a mast poked up through the vapour as though the vessel were
rising out of the ocean, then two more mastheads and a red and black
funnel, and last of all a great grey hull.

"Hurrah!" called out Mrs. Carr, with one eye still fixed to the
telescope and the remainder of her little face all screwed up in her
efforts to keep the other closed, "it's the mail; I can see the Donald
Currie flag, a white C on a blue ground."

"Well, I am sure, Mildred, there's no need for you to make your face
look like a monkey, if it is; you look just as though the corner of
your mouth were changing places with your eyebrow."

"Agatha, you are dreadfully rude; when the fairies took your
endowments in hand, they certainly did not forget the gift of plain
speech. I shall appeal to Mr. Heigham; do I look like a monkey, Mr.
Heigham? No, on second thoughts, I won't wait for the inevitable
compliment. Arthur, hold your tongue and I will tell you something.
That must be the new boat, the _Garth Castle_, and I want to see over
her. Captain Smithson, who is bringing her out, has got a box of
things for me. What do you say if we kill two birds with one stone, go
and see the vessel and get our luncheon on board."

"I am at your ladyship's service," answered Arthur, lazily, "but would
you like to have the compliment apropos of the monkey? I have thought
of something extremely neat now."

"Not on any account; I hate compliments that are not meant," and her
eyes gave a little flash which put a point to her words. "Agatha, I
suppose that you will come?"

"Well, yes, dear, the bay looks pretty smooth."

"Smooth, yes, you might sail across it in a paper ship," yawned
Arthur.

"For goodness' sake don't look so lazy, Mr. Heigham, but ring the bell