he murmured apologetically. Then she settled back
limply in the wide couch and inspected the room, his footsteps noisily
clattering down the long hallway to the left. She saw, with some
misgiving, that it was purely a man's habitation. Shaw doubtless had
built and furnished the big cottage without woman as a consideration.
The room was large, comfortable, solid; there was not a suggestion of
femininity in it--high or low--except the general air of cleanliness.
The furniture was rough-hewn and built for use, not ornamentation; the
walls were hung with English prints, antlers, mementoes of the hunt
and the field of sport; the floor was covered with skins and great
"carpet rag" rugs. The whole aspect was so distinctly mannish that her
heart fluttered ridiculously in its loneliness. Her cogitations were
running seriously toward riot when he came hurriedly down the hall and
into her presence.

"She'll be down presently. In fact, so will the cook and the
housemaid. Gad, Miss Drake, they were so afraid of the storm that all
of them piled into Mrs. Ulrich's room. I wonder at your courage in
facing the symptoms outdoors. Now, I'll fix you a drink. Take off your
hat--be comfortable. Cigarette? Good! Here's my sideboard. See? It's a
nuisance, this having only one arm in commission; affects my style as
a barkeep. Don't stir; I'll be able--"

"Let me help you. I mean, please don't go to so much trouble. Really
I want nothing but a place to sleep to-night. This couch will
do--honestly. And some one to call me at daybreak, so that I may be
on my way." He looked at her and laughed quizzically. "Oh, I'm in
earnest, Mr. Shaw. I wouldn't have stopped here if it hadn't been for
the storm."

"Come, now, Miss Drake, you spoil the fairy tale. You _did_ intend to
come here. It was the only place for you to go--and I'm glad of it. My
only regret is that the house isn't filled with chaperons."

"Why?" she demanded with a guilty start.

"Because I could then say to you all the things that are in my
heart--aye, that are almost bursting from my lips. I--I can't say them
now, you know," he said, and she understood his delicacy. For some
minutes she sat in silence watching him as he clumsily mixed the
drinks and put the water over the alcohol blaze. Suddenly he turned
to her with something like alarm in his voice. "By George, you don't
suppose they'll pursue you?"

"Oh, wouldn't that be jolly? It would be like the real story-book--the
fairy a