rts to develop. And he makes a heroic resolve, not to
cut off his nose or to grow a beard, nor get married, but henceforth
to live a life of usefulness and seclusion, which was certainly
considerate. And furthermore, if by any accident he ever again involved
the affections of another girl he would marry her, be she as ugly as sin
or as poor as poverty. Then the heroine comes in. Her name is Rosamond,
which sounds well and may be euphoniously coupled with Desmond; and,
with the single exception of a boarding-school girl, she is the only
young woman he ever thought of twice. In order to save her and himself
he goes away, but the temptation to write to her overpowers him, and
of course she answers his letter. This brings on a correspondence.
His letters take the form of confessions, and are the fruits of much
philosophical reflection. 'Inconstancy in woman,' he says, because of
the present social conditions, is often pardonable. In a man, nothing
is more despicable.' This is his cardinal principle, and he sticks to
it nobly. For, though he tires of Rosamond, who is quite attractive,
however, he marries her and lives a life of self-denial. There are men
who might take that story to heart."

I was amused that she should give the passage quoted by the Celebrity
himself. Her double meaning was, naturally, lost on Farrar, but he
enjoyed the thing hugely, nevertheless, as more or less applicable to
Mr. Allen. I made sure that gentleman was sensible of what was being
said, though he scarcely moved a muscle. And Miss Trevor, with a
mirthful glance at me that was not without a tinge of triumph, jumped
lightly to the deck and went in to see the invalids.

We were now working up into the lee of the island, whose tall pines
stood clean and black against the red glow of the evening sky. Mr. Cooke
began to give evidences of life, and finally got up and overhauled one
of the ice-chests for a restorative. Farrar put into the little cove,
where we dropped anchor, and soon had the chief sufferers ashore; and
a delicate supper, in the preparation of which Miss Thorn showed her
ability as a cook, soon restored them. For my part, I much preferred
Miss Thorn's dishes to those of the Mohair chef, and so did Farrar. And
the Four, surprising as it may seem, made themselves generally useful
about the camp in pitching the tents under Farrar's supervision. But the
Celebrity remained apart and silent.

CHAPTER XI

Our first, night in the Bea