and that these manifestly humble "squatters" upon it would not be
interfered with for some time to come. He began to be uneasy again; it
was true they were fully half a mile from him, and they were foreigners;
but might not their reckless invasion of the law attract others, in
this lawless country, to do the same? It ought to be stopped. For once
Richard Jarman sided with legal authority.

But when the cabin was completed, it was evident from what he saw of its
rude structure that it was only a temporary shelter for the fisherman's
family and the stores, and refitting of the fishing-boat, more
convenient to them than the San Francisco wharves. The beach was
utilized for the mending of nets and sails, and thus became half
picturesque. In spite of the keen northwestern trades, the cloudless,
sunshiny mornings tempted these southerners back to their native al
fresco existence; they not only basked in the sun, but many of their
household duties, and even the mysteries of their toilet, were performed
in the open air. They did not seem to care to penetrate into the
desolate region behind them; their half-amphibious habit kept them near
the water's edge, and Richard Jarman, after taking his limited walks
for the first few mornings in another direction, found it no longer
necessary to avoid the locality, and even forgot their propinquity.

But one morning, as the fog was clearing away and the sparkle of the
distant sea was beginning to show from his window, he rose from his
belated breakfast to fetch water from the "breaker" outside, which had
to be replenished weekly from Sancelito, as there was no spring in his
vicinity. As he opened the door, he was inexpressibly startled by the
figure of a young woman standing in front of it, who, however, half
fearfully, half laughingly withdrew before him. But his own manifest
disturbance apparently gave her courage.

"I jess was looking at that thing," she said bashfully, pointing to the
semaphore.

He was still more astonished, for, looking at her dark eyes and olive
complexion, he had expected her to speak Italian or broken English. And,
possibly because for a long time he had seen and known little of women,
he was quite struck with her good looks. He hesitated, stammered, and
then said:--

"Won't you come in?"

She drew back still farther and made a rapid gesture of negation with
her head, her hand, and even her whole lithe figure. Then she said, with
a decided American intona