ikely she could
pick him up and pitch him through the window. He had always disliked
athletic girls, fancying that they nodded to him patronizingly as they
passed him on country club verandas all aglow from golf or tennis. This
amiable Isabel was quite capable of making him dance through a set of
tennis and with her high spirits and strong will might even bring him
out alive. It was obvious that the sudden sweeping away of her father's
fortune had not troubled her in the least. He marveled at this, for he
had a great deal of money that had been conferred upon him in the cradle
and what he should do if he lost it was a depressing possibility that
had contributed not a little to his neurasthenia.

When it came time for Isabel to say good-night to her hostess Bennett
was hovering near to offer his services in calling her car.

"Nothing like that for me! I brought walking shoes and shall foot it
home, thank you. But--" she hesitated and said with mock gravity, "if
you're not afraid of the night air or the excessive fatigue, you might
take me home. That will add a mile to your prescription but you can ride
back!"

The other guests had gone when she reappeared, wrapped in a long cloak
and bearing a party-bag containing her slippers. She spoke of her plans
for the summer with charming candor as they set off at a brisk pace.
Little bits of autobiography she let fall interested him immensely. She
was born in Wyoming, where her father had been a ranchman, and she had
first known Mrs. Featherstone in college. She was enthusiastic about the
summer camp; if it succeeded she meant to conduct an outdoor school for
girls, moving it from Michigan to Florida with the changing seasons.

"People have been so kind to me! And I shall have a wonderful lot of
girls--just think of it,--one hundred dear young beings from all over
the country. It's a big responsibility but that land of my grandfather's
is a lovely site for the camp. It's on a bay, where the swimming will be
perfectly safe, and there's a wonderful forest, with Indian trails that
run back to Marquette's time. We shall have a doctor--a woman, of
course--and two trained nurses and some splendid young women to act, as
councilors."

There was no question of her making a success of it, he said, marveling
at her vitality, her exuberance, the confidence with which she viewed
the future.

"I wish you all good luck," he said when they reached the house of the
friend she was visiting.