g out. He hadn't planned any regular tour for himself; he had
meant to wander here and there, as the fancy seized him; but now the
route was for us to decide. Whatever pleased us would please him. As for
his painting, you could hardly go round a corner in Holland without
stumbling on a scene for a picture, and he should come across them
everywhere; he had no choice of direction. But in seven or eight weeks
we could explore the waterways pretty thoroughly. Our skipper would be
able to put us on the right track, and let us miss nothing. Had we,
by-the-by, asked Mr. van Buren if he'd any skippers up his sleeve? Oh,
well, it didn't matter that we'd forgotten. He himself had the names of
several, besides some men he had already seen, and he would interview
them all. It was certain that in a day or two at most, he could find
exactly the right person for the place, and we might be sure that while
we were away at Scheveningen he would not be idle in our common
interests.

"After all, even _you_ must admit that men are of some use," said Phil,
when we were at the hotel again, waiting for Cousin Robert and his car.
"Supposing you'd had to organize the tour alone, as we expected, could
you have done it?"

"Of course," I replied, bravely.

"What! and engaged a chauffeur and a skipper? Who would have told you
what to do? I'm sure we could never have started without your cousin
Robert and Mr. Starr."

"What has Cousin Robert got to do with it?" I demanded.

Phil reflected. "Now I come to think of it, I don't know exactly. But he
is so _dependable_; and there's so much of him."

"I hope there won't be too much," said I.

"I like tall men," remarked Phil, dreamily. Then she looked at her
watch. "It's five minutes to four. He ought to be here soon."

"He'll come inside ten minutes," I prophesied.

But he came in three. I might have known he would be before his time,
rather than after. And he arrived with a nice letter from his mother.

Neither Phyllis nor I had ever been in a motor-car until we got gingerly
into that one. I had heard her say that she would never thus risk her
life; but she made no mention of this resolution to Cousin Robert. If
she had, it would have been useless; for without doubt she would in the
end have had to go; and it saved time not to demur.

V

The car which stood throbbing at the door of the hotel was large and
handsome, as if made to match my cousin, and it was painted flame color.

"I