he ferocious Jason and his treasure."

"They'll have a lot more fun poked at them before we're done. As I told
you--only the colored people take them seriously at all."

I took out my fountain pen, found a scrap of paper, and drew something
like this:

[Illustration: GRAND TREASURE HUNT
You are hereby invited to rally round at
KASTLE KRAGS
Sept. 6-12; search for
SPANISH GOLD
on 50-50
basis.

The Treasure is
guarded by
AWFUL SEA-MONSTER

P.S. Bring rods and guns. Turkey,
quail, deer, sea-fish. All that makes
the sportsman's heart be glad.

R.S.V.P.]

As my only drawing experience consisted in portraying specimens, it had
no artistic pretensions whatever.

He seemed pleased, adopted the plan in an instant, then began to write
down the names of his guests so that I could prepare an invitation for
each. Most of them, I observed, lived in great cities to the North, New
York and Boston particularly, and one or two of the men were more or
less nationally known. The first half dozen names came easy. Then he
paused, frowning.

"I wish I knew what to do about this bird," he muttered, as much to
himself as to me. "Killdare, I don't suppose you've ever heard of
him--Major Kenneth Dell?"

I shook my head. "Not that I remember."

"Well, I haven't either--yet I suppose he's a good sportsman. In the
last few weeks he's got close to my best friend, Bill Van Hope, and Bill
asked me to ask him down for this shoot. Says he's a distinguished man,
the best of fellows, and is simply wild to try Floridan game. Oh, I'll
put him down. If Bill recommends him he must be the goods."

He completed the list in a moment, then his duties calling him
elsewhere, he left me in the study to prepare the invitations. And the
hour turned out fortunately for me, after all. Thinking that the room
was empty, Edith Nealman came back to her desk.

All the gold in Jason's chest could not have bought a more lovely
picture than she made, standing framed in the doorway. She was dressed
in a spotless cotton middy-suit, and the red scarf at her throat brought
out to perfection the light in her eyes and the high color in her
cheeks. Then she came in and inspected the invitations.

There was no occasion for me to leave at once. We talked a while, on
everything under the sun, and every minute something that was like
delight kept growing within me. She'd been up against the world, this
girl that chattered so gayly in the big, easy offi