CHAPTER XI
A DREAM REALIZED
For a moment Drew almost doubted his own eyesight. But there was no mistake. There could be only one girl like her in the world, he told himself. She was wearing a simple white dress and her head was bare. The bright sunshine rioted in her golden hair, and her eyes were luminous and soft. A wave of color mounted to her forehead as she came face to face with Allen Drew.
She had turned the corner of the deck house, and they had almost collided. She stepped back, startled, and Drew collected his scattered wits sufficiently to lift his hat and apologize.
"I—I beg your pardon," he stammered. "I ought to have been more careful."
"Oh, it was my fault entirely," she answered graciously. "I shouldn't have turned the corner so sharply."
What next he might have said Drew never knew, for just then there came a heavy step and the sound of a jovial voice behind him, and Captain Hamilton's hand was grasping his.
"So you did manage to come over and get a look at the beauty, did you? What do you think of her?"
"The most beautiful thing I've ever seen!" answered Drew fervently.
He might have had a different beauty in mind from that which the captain had, and perhaps this suspicion occurred to the girl, for the flush in her cheek became slightly more pronounced. But the unsuspecting captain was hugely gratified at the tribute, though somewhat surprise at its ardor.