e as they met, and the
first thing that struck her about him was the obvious fact that he
had shaved. His eyes intercepted hers, and she saw the flicker of
a smile pass across them and knew he had read her thought.

She flushed as she held out her hand to him. "Good morning," she
said with a touch of shyness. "I hope you haven't been wasting
your time waiting for me."

He took her hand and turned her towards the small room in which
they had talked together the previous night. "No, I haven't wasted
my time," he said. "I hope you have had a good rest?"

"Oh, quite, thank you," she answered. "I slept like the dead. I
feel--fit for anything."

"That's right," he said briefly. "We will have some breakfast
before we start business."

"Oh, you have been waiting!" she exclaimed with compunction. "I'm
so sorry. I'm not generally so lazy."

"Don't apologize!" he said. "You've done exactly what I hoped
you'd do. Sit down, won't you? Take the end of the table!"

His manner was friendly though curt. Her embarrassment fell from
her as she complied. They sat, facing one another, and, the light
being upon him, she gave him a steady look. He was not nearly so
much like Guy as she had thought the previous night, though
undoubtedly there was a strong resemblance. On a closer inspection
she did not think him handsome, but the keen alertness of him
attracted her. He looked as if physical endurance were a quality
he had brought very near to perfection. He had the stamp of the
gladiator upon him. He had wrestled against odds.

After a moment or two he turned his eyes unexpectedly to hers. It
was a somewhat disconcerting habit of his.

"A satisfactory result, I hope?" he said.

She did not look away. "I don't consider myself a good character
reader," she said. "But you are certainly not so much like Guy as
I thought at first sight."

"Thank you," he said. "I must confess I prefer to be like myself."

She laughed a little. "It was absurd of me to make such a mistake.
But yours was the only face that looked in the least familiar in
all that crowd. I was so glad to see it."

"You have never been in this country before?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Never. I feel a dreadful outsider at
present. But I shall soon learn.'

"Do you ride?" he said.

Her eyes kindled. "Yes. I was keen on hunting in England. That
will be a help, won't it?"

"It would be," he said, "if you stayed."

"I have come