And Ned declares that of course he never thought anything about it; then immediately condemned himself by saying Mrs. St. James was a fiend. Dolores laughs softly.
"You should never take up the cudgels for other people, Mr. Crane. I did the same thing myself one time, and found it would not work."
The gong sounds for luncheon, and Gordon Aubrey comes up hurriedly.
"You promised I should take you down, Miss Litchfield. I hope you have not forgotten."
Gordon forgets, in the excitement of the moment, to adjust the gold eye-glass, to stare at Mr. Crane as he reluctantly furled Dolores' white parasol and placed it carefully in her hand.
The dance was a grand success; the officers did all that lay in their power to make it so; and as the party from the yacht took their departure, floating dreamily across the smooth moonlit waters, all felt perfectly contented with the day's pleasure. All but pretty, restless Rea Severn; her peace of mind was sadly disturbed, and why? Well, perhaps Dolores Litchfield, sitting there, leaning over the side of the pretty little row-boat, idly trailing her white fingers in the cool water, with Gordon Aubrey apparently utterly unconscious of everything else, sitting beside her, trying to be as entertaining as possible. Perhaps that had something to do with Rea's coldness to Jerry Hopkins, who is talking to her now, and who, chatty people say, is not indifferent to Miss Severn's good looks, or her forty thousand pounds.
CHAPTER IV.
A STRANGER.
"He lived at peace with all mankind,
In friendship he was true;
His coat had pocket holes behind,
His pantaloons were blue."