The unexpected appearance of this girl whom he had completely succeeded in shutting out of his life was too much for the boy. He gazed at her with open mouth and surprised, doubting eyes. “Lefty!” she announced, making no attempt to conceal her eagerness, “I’m very glad to see you!” An uncomfortable look shadowed the boy’s face and his eyes shifted uneasily as Elinor’s happy smile of welcome faded to an expression of keen disappointment over his indifference. [Illustration: An uncomfortable look overshadowed the boy’s face at Elinor’s happy smile of welcome.] “Aren’t you glad to see me?” she asked hopefully. “Yeah—sure I am! How have you been?” Lefty was obviously in exactly the kind of situation that he would have given anything to avoid, and he strove to divert the trend of conversation away from anything personal. Arriving once more upon solid ground, he released her and turned away to fetch another passenger just as he felt her hand tugging at the sleeve of his blouse. “You don’t seem a bit glad to see me,” she said, bewildered over his enigmatic reticence. “Sure I am,” he strove to explain in an unconvincing manner. “You’re just imagining things! Excuse me now because I—er—well, there are some more to unload!” She stood on the hank watching him wade out into the water toward the helpless motor transport. Her eyes grew moist as she sighed deeply and felt her heart leaden with disappointment. The little truck Lefty had driven out was standing just a few feet away. The first two nurses were climbing in the back, assisted by their Marine rescuers just as Elinor turned in their direction. An idea came to her and she once more smiled hopefully as she ran to the car, perching herself in the seat next to the driver’s that she knew would be occupied by Lefty. When the last nurse and final piece of baggage had been brought to shore, one of the Marines, seeing Elinor, climbed up into the seat beside her. “Nursie,” he began softly, “you’re the best thing me eyes have lamped since I left old Joisey City!” He felt a large hand firmly grip him by the collar and drag him from his seat to the ground. “Just cut out that kind of stuff!” Lefty warned. “Miss Martin happens to be a lady!” The offending Marine merely muttered something incoherent under his breath and jumped on the rear ledge of the truck as Lefty returned to the driver’s seat to be greeted by the warm, inviting and grateful eyes of Elinor. One glance in the girl’s direction was sufficient for Lefty. With an air of uneasiness, he trained his eyes on the road straight ahead, giving the car plenty of gas and shifting his gears right into high. Neither the boy or girl had spoken a word all the way in until they reached the outskirts of Managua with the capital city’s house tops plainly in view. Elinor then broke the long silence by asking about Panama with an assumed air of deep interest.