p a
goddess, too."

"I'm sorry," said Miss Maturin, "that Mrs. Vanderveldt mentioned my
search for a capitalist. I have abandoned the quest. I am now merely
your guide to the lakes. Please take a seat in this automobile of yours,
Lord Stranleigh, and I will be your conductor."

The young man stepped in beside her, and a few moments later they were
gliding, rather than running over a perfect road, under the trees, in a
machine as noiseless as the forest. The Earl of Stranleigh had seen many
beautiful regions of this world, but never any landscape just like this.
Its artificiality and its lack of artificiality interested him. Nothing
could be more businesslike than the construction of the stout dams, and
nothing more gently rural than the limpid lakes, with the grand old
forest trees marshalled round their margins like a veteran army that had
marched down to drink, only to be stricken motionless at the water's
edge.

It seemed that the silence of the motor-car had enchanted into silence
its occupants. The girl devoted her whole attention to the machine and
its management. Stranleigh sat dumb, and gave himself up to the full
enjoyment of the Vallombrosic tour.

For more than half an hour no word had been spoken; finally the
competent chauffeur brought the auto to a standstill at a view-point
near the head of the valley, which offered a prospect of the brawling
main stream.

"We have now reached the last of the lakes in this direction," she said
quietly. "I think your automobile is admirable, Lord Stranleigh."

The young man indulged in a deep sigh of satisfaction.

"As a landscape gardener on a marvellous scale, you are without a
competitor, Miss Maturin."

The girl laughed very sweetly.

"That is a compliment to nature rather than to me. I have merely let
the wilderness alone, so far as road-making and dam-building would
allow me."

"In that very moderation lies genius--the leaving alone. Will you
forgive the inquisitiveness of a mere man whom you suspected at our
outset of success-worship, if he asks what practical object you have in
view?"

"Oh, I should have thought that was self-evident to an observant person
like yourself," she said airily. "These lakes conserve the water,
storing it in time of flood for use in time of scarcity. By means of
sluices we obtain partial control of the main stream."

"You flatter me by saying I am observant. I fear that I am rather the
reverse, except where my interest is