n him without the knowledge of his friends. He was coming
home from Europe now, reluctantly and with regret; but, since he had
a profession, it must be attended to.

He observed the tall young woman who walked in front of him on her
husband's arm (some instinct told him that it was her husband) from
an artist's standpoint only. It had occurred to him that here was a
remarkable model for a picture. He furtively studied the lines of her
figure, which was clad in a long, tight-fighting cloak, trimmed with
fur, and the contour and color of the knot of brown hair, whose living
lustre shone richly between the dull fur that bordered her collar and
her hat. Every moment the study fascinated him more, as he followed and
turned, as they turned. Suddenly it struck him that perhaps his interest
in the pair ahead of him might, in spite of him, be observed; and so,
rather reluctantly, he took a seat in one of several empty chairs at the
steamer's stern. Here he could still observe them, at intervals, as they
came and went. They spoke to no one, not even to each other, though he
was convinced they were newly married. Both of them looked very young.

After a few turns the lady complained of being tired, and proposed they
should sit down. Her companion assented by a nod, and they took the
seats next to Noel. She spoke English, but with much hesitation and
with a strong foreign accent. The man was silent still, as they seated
themselves and wrapped their rugs about them; for in spite of the full
blaze of the sinking sun it was very cold. Noel also kept still, looking
and listening. He was a little back of them, and only her pure profile
was visible to him. The man's profile, which was also a handsome one, he
could see beyond hers.

For a long time there was silence. The wind grew keener. The tarpaulin
which covered the white life-boat near by trembled from end to end, as
if the thing hid were alive and shivering. The sea-gulls that followed
the boat fluttered and dipped about in the cold air. The sun, a great
gold ball, was sinking rapidly in a mist of pink and yellow light. The
wide stretch of water underneath it was a heavy iron black, except
where, near the ship, it was dashed into green-white foam. Noel looked
at the face of the woman near him, and, seeing a sudden light of
interest in her eyes, followed their glance to where a school of
dolphins was rising and plunging in the cold sea water. He heard her
call her companion's atten