So intent was she on her thought that she did not feel the cold. But her lips were blue, and she shivered as the wind swept around the corner. Justin jumped at once to his feet. "I'm a brute to keep you here. There must be some one around the place who can take us in." He left her, to come back presently with the news that there was a man down at the stables, and that there was a fire in the harness room. He brought a rain coat, and wrapped her in it, scolding himself all along the way for his neglect of her comfort. The stables of the Western magnate were vast and wonderful. They had been divorced somewhat from their original use as a place for horses, two-thirds of the space being given up to motor cars and electrics. But the riding horses were in their stalls, and, as Bettina entered, their heads went up. She stopped to pet them, then the groom led the way to the harness room. It was a picturesque place, with its lacquered leather, its shining brass, its racing trophies, blue ribbons, gold-handled whips and crops, silver cups and medals. "I'll telephone for my car," Justin said, "and send a boy down to Captain Stubbs and Miss Matthews. They'll probably go back in the boat, now that the storm is over." With the message sent, and the smiling groom, pleased with Justin's generous tip, dismissed, the two were again alone. "This is better," said Justin, as they settled themselves in front of the fire. "Now you'll get some color in your cheeks." With her chin on her hand, she said slowly, "Do you know that nobody ever asked me to be his friend before?" "That's luck for me. There'll be no one else to share----" She glanced up at him with enchanting shyness. "The trouble with most men is, I imagine, that they don't want friendship--they want love, and that isn't easy for a woman to give, is it?" Silence, then at last, uncertainly, "I suppose not." "Any man can fall in love with a woman," she informed him, "but it seems to me that it must take certain kinds of men and women to be friends. That's why it seems so wonderful. Why, even if I married some one else, I could still be your friend, couldn't I?" "Ye-es. Oh, yes, of course." "Perhaps that's what I've missed all my life--the chance to really inspire some one. You know it's nice to feel that you're helping. And some men are so self-sufficient, so secure. You wouldn't feel that you'd dare to suggest. You'd only be a child to them--and while it might be nice to marry a man like that, it would be nice, too, to have the other kind for a friend." Of all the bewildering little creatures! If she married some other man, forsooth! He set his teeth. Well, she _shouldn't_ marry any other man. "Look here," he asked, suddenly, "have you ever been in love?" She nodded, all rosy color and drooped lashes. The unexpectedness of her answer made him hesitate, but finally he ventured, "How did it feel?"