t her, but she
seemed not to understand his meaning. Her naive smile and frankly
uplifted eyes put all his suddenly conceived notions of social stiffness
to flight.

"Why should a lady come?" she asked sweetly. "It is not necessary? . . ."

"Of course it isn't!" said Lorimer promptly and delightedly. "I am sure
we shall be able to amuse you, Miss Gueldmar."

"Oh,--for that!" she replied, with a little shrug that had something
French about it, "I amuse myself always! I am amused now,--you must not
trouble yourselves!"

As she was introduced to Duprez and Macfarlane, she gave them each a
quaint, sweeping curtsy, which had the effect of making them feel the
most ungainly lumbersome fellows on the face of the earth. Macfarlane
grew secretly enraged at the length of his legs,--while Pierre Duprez,
though his bow was entirely Parisian, decided in his own mind that it
was jerky, and not good style. She was perfectly unembarrassed with all
the young men; she laughed at their jokes, and turned her glorious eyes
full on them with the unabashed sweetness of innocence; she listened to
the accounts they gave her of their fishing and climbing excursions with
the most eager interest,--and in her turn, she told them of fresh nooks
and streams and waterfalls, of which they had never even heard the
names. Not only were they enchanted with her, but they were thoroughly
delighted with her father, Olaf Gueldmar. The sturdy old pagan was in the
best of humors,--and seemed determined to be pleased with
everything,--he told good stories,--and laughed that rollicking, jovial
laugh of his with such unforced heartiness that it was impossible to be
dull in his company,--and not one of Errington's companions gave a
thought to the reports concerning him and his daughter, which had been
so gratuitously related by Mr. Dyceworthy.

They had had a glorious day's sail, piloted by Valdemar Svensen, whose
astonishment at seeing the Gueldmars on board the _Eulalie_ was depicted
in his face, but who prudently forebore from making any remarks thereon.
The _bonde_ hailed him good-humoredly as an old acquaintance,--much in
the tone of a master addressing a servant,--and Thelma smiled kindly at
him,--but the boundary line between superior and inferior was in this
case very strongly marked, and neither side showed any intention of
overstepping it. In the course of the day, Duprez had accidentally
lapsed into French, whereupon to his surprise Thelma had answe