rch, I presume?"

"And you?"

"Oh, I drove the folks over to Paulmouth. There is an Episcopal Church
there and the girls think it's more fashionable. You don't see many
soft-collared shirts among the Paulmouth Episcopalians."

There spoke the "native," Louise thought; and she smiled.

"It scarcely matters, I fancy, which denomination one attends. It is
the spirit in which we worship that counts."

He gazed upon her seriously. "You're a thoughtful girl, I guess. I
should not have looked for that--in your business."

"In my business? Oh!"

"We outsiders have an idea that people in the theatrical line are a
peculiar class unto themselves," Lawford went on.

"But I----" On the point of telling him of his mistake she hesitated.
He was unobservant of her amusement and went on with seriousness:

"I guess I'm pretty green after all. I don't know much about the
world--your world, at least. I love the sea, and sailing, and all the
seashore has to offer. Sometimes I'm out here alone all day long."

"But what is it doing for you?" she asked him rather sharply. "Surely
there can be very little in it, when all's said and done. A man with
your intelligence--you have evidently had a good education."

"I suppose I don't properly appreciate that," he admitted.

"And to really waste your time like this--loafing longshore, and
sailing boats, and--and driving an automobile. Why! you are a regular
beach comber, Mr. Tapp. It's not much of an outlook for a man I should
think."

She suddenly stopped, realizing that she was showing more interest than
the occasion called for. Lawford was watching her with smoldering eyes.

"Don't you think it is a nice way to live?" he asked. "The sea is
really wonderful. I have learned more about sea and shore already than
you can find in all the books. Do you know where the gulls nest, and
how they hatch their young? Did you ever watch a starfish feeding? Do
you know what part of the shellfish is the scallop of commerce? Do you
know that every seventh wave is almost sure to be larger than its
fellows? Do you----"

"Oh, it may be very delightful," Louise interrupted this flow of badly
catalogued information to say. He expressed exactly her own desires.
Nothing could be pleasanter than spending the time, day after day,
learning things "at first hand" about nature. For her father--and of
course for her--to do this was quite proper, Louise thought. But not
for this young f