"You and I are not going in," answered Whitcomb quietly.
They stood a moment near the piazza steps.
"Good-night, King." The two men shook hands. "I think that is Linda now over there in the hammock. Give my love to her, will you?"
"I will."
Above the dazzle of golden water and under the pulsing beat of the stars, King moved up the steps.
There was a stir in the shadow at the end of the piazza and in a moment one word sounded on the still air.
"Bertram!"
The voice and its tone wrenched some deeply rooted fiber in Whitcomb's being and all his blood seemed trying to rush at once to his heart.
Madge, too, heard the revealing joy of the single word. As they turned to walk back, her clinging silken draperies stirred, and she slipped her hand through her companion's arm, and clasped it.
"It's a vast sea," she said softly.