was proud of him, and
much in love with him.

"Whom are you looking at so hard?" Mrs. Ashborne inquired.

"Bertram Challoner and his bride," said Mrs. Keith. "They're coming
toward us yonder."

Then a curious thing happened, for a man who was crossing the street
seemed to see the Challoners and, turning suddenly, stepped back behind
a passing cab. They had their backs to him when he went on, but he
looked around, as if to make sure he had not been observed, before he
entered the hotel.

"That was strange," said Mrs. Ashborne. "It looked as if the fellow
didn't want to meet our friends. Who can he be?"

"How can I tell?" Mrs. Keith answered. "I think I've seen him
somewhere, but that's all I know."

Looking around as Millicent joined them, she noticed the girl's puzzled
expression. Millicent had obviously seen the stranger's action, but
Mrs. Keith did not wish to pursue the subject then; and the next moment
Challoner came up and greeted her heartily, while his wife spoke to
Mrs. Ashborne.

"We arrived only this afternoon, and must have missed you at dinner,"
he said. "We may go West to-morrow, though we haven't decided yet.
I've no doubt we shall see you again to-night or at breakfast."

After a few pleasant words the Challoners passed on, and Mrs. Keith
looked after them thoughtfully.

"Bertram has changed in the last few years," she said. "I heard that
he had malaria in India, and that perhaps accounts for it, but he shows
signs of his mother's delicacy. She was not strong, and I always
thought he had her highly strung nervous temperament, though he must
have learned to control it in the army."

"He couldn't have got in unless the doctors were satisfied with him,"
Mrs. Ashborne pointed out.

"That's true; but both mental and physical traits have a way of lying
dormant while we're young, and developing later. Bertram has shown
himself a capable officer; but, to my mind, he looked more like a
soldier when he was at Sandhurst than he does now."

Mrs. Ashborne glanced toward Millicent, who was distributing a basket
of peaches among a group of untidy immigrant children. One toddling
baby clung to her skirt.

"What a charming picture! Miss Graham fits the part well. You can see
that she's sorry for the dirty little beggars. They don't look as if
they'd had a happy time; and a liner's crowded steerage isn't a
luxurious place."

Mrs. Keith smiled as Millicent came toward her with a few of the s