e unfit."

Millicent spread out some drawings. Most were in color, in some cases
several of the same object, done with patient care, and she was strangely
pleased when she saw the quick appreciation in his eyes.

"An otter; it's alive," he remarked. "You've shown it working through a
shallow, looking much less like an animal than a fish--that's right."

"I made half a dozen sketches, and I'm not satisfied yet."

"Thorough," he commented. "You get there, if you have to hammer the heart
out of whatever you're up against."

"It's my brother's book," she answered. "I'm finishing it for him. He did
other things--most of them useful, indirectly. I've only this--and I'd
like my part to be good."

He nodded sympathetically, looking troubled.

"I can understand," he said. "I had a partner--I owe him more than I
could ever have repaid, and he left a troublesome piece of work to me. It
will have to be put through. But let me see some more; they're great."

She showed him a red jay; a tiny gold-crest perched on a thorn branch; a
kingfisher gleaming with turquoise hues, poised ready for a dive upon a
froth-lapped stone. He was no cultured critic, but he knew the ways of
the wild creatures and saw that she had talent, for her representations
of them were instinct with life.

They were interrupted by a scratching at the door and when she opened it
a white setter hobbled awkwardly in and curled itself at her feet.

"He's rather a big dog for the house, but I can't keep him away from me,"
she explained. "As you see, he has lost a foot, in a trap, and he was
marked for destruction when I asked for him. Sometimes I think he knows
that I saved his life."

The dog looked up and raising a paw scraped at her hand, until she opened
it, when he thrust his chin into her palm. It was a trivial incident, but
it somehow stirred the man.

"Now I know where you got power to draw these lesser brethren," he said.
"Study alone would never have given it to you."

She let this pass. He was almost embarrassing in his directness, though
she acquitted him of any crude intention of flattering her.

"I promised to let you read my brother's diary," she reminded him. "If
you will wait a few moments, I'll get it."

The dog pattered after her, as though unwilling to remain out of her
sight, and she came back presently with a small leather case and opening
it took out a tattered notebook. Noticing how she handled it and that the
case was beautifull