The chill and gusty days of early spring had passed and the soft warmth of May had brought out all the flowers. Along the gallery the honeysuckle and the Cherokee climbers were fragrant with the first blossoms of summer, and Bowles was glad to tarry beneath them when Mrs. Lee met him hospitably at the stoop. In the far west the Tortugas were passing through the daily miracle of sunset, and the hush of evening had settled upon all the land. "Ah, Mrs. Lee," sighed Bowles, as he contemplated with a poet's eye the beauties of nature, "now I understand how you can live here for thirty years and never go back to New York. Such illumination--such color! And from the hill here, it is so much more glorious! Really, in spite of the loneliness, I almost envy you those thirty years!" "Yes," admitted Mrs. Lee, leading him to a rawhide chair beneath the honeysuckle, "it _is_ beautiful. I like it--in a way--but still, I can never forget New York. It offers so much, you know, of music and art and society; and yet--well, Henry needed me, and so I stayed. But I have tried to give my daughter what advantages I could. I have a sister, you know, living in New York--Mrs. Elwood Tupper--perhaps you know her?" "Why, the name seems familiar," returned Bowles glibly. "Yes, she's my sister," resumed Mrs. Lee, after glancing at him curiously. "Dixie was with her all last winter--I thought perhaps you might have met her there?" Once more she gazed at him in that same inquiring way, and Bowles wondered if she had heard anything, but he was quick to elude the point. "Hmm," he mused, "Tupper! No, I hardly think so. When I return, though, I shall be glad to look her up--perhaps I can convey some message from you. Your daughter must find it rather close and confining in the city, after her fine, free life in the open. Really, Mrs. Lee, I never knew what living was until I came out here! Of course, I'm very new yet----" "Yes," agreed Mrs. Lee, who knew a few social sleights herself, "Dixie did complain of the confinement, but she----_O Dixie_!" "Yes, Mother!" replied a dutiful voice from within. "Come out on the gallery--Mr. Bowles is here. But she met some very nice people there--some of the real old families, you know--and I thought----" The door opened at this point, and Bowles leapt to his feet in astonishment. It was a different Dixie that appeared before him--the same bewitching creature who had dazzled his eyes at the Wordsworth Club, and she wore the very same gown. And what a wonderful transformation it seemed to make in her--she was so quiet and demure now, and she greeted him in quite the proper manner. "I was just telling Mr. Bowles, Dixie," continued Mrs. Lee, still holding to her fixed idea, "that you went out quite a little in New York--and perhaps you might have met back there." For a moment the two eyed each other shrewdly, each guessing how much the other had said, and then Bowles opened up the way.