Jessie herself wondered why, under the circumstances, he paid her so much attention, but being devoid of vanity, she ascribed it to the natural kindliness of his heart, and was very sweet and gentle in return, telling herself he had been so kind she must not repulse him these last few days when they would soon be parted forever. There were times when she could not help feeling that every look and action breathed love, then she would chide herself for her vanity. “I am as vain and silly as when I thought him in love with me before, because he showed me some meaningless attentions just to pique the girl he loved into jealousy. I must not fall into such a mistake again,” she mused, trying to curb her tempestuous heart that beat so fast at his impassioned glances. CHAPTER XXXI. HOW COULD HE LOSE HER THUS? The days flew fast and to-morrow their eventful journey would be over--they would land at New York. More than one heart was secretly sorry, grieving to lose sight of one sweet passenger--lovely Jessie Lyndon. And what made the parting worse was that Jessie gave them no hope of meeting her again, in spite of their broad hints at renewing her acquaintance in New York. She had said to one and all that she was going to relatives in the city, but not to any one, even Laurier, did she disclose their names. In fact, Jessie was ill at ease over the thought of returning to her mother, because there she must meet again the proud beauty, Cora. “I must be there through all the excitement of their wedding. How can I bear it?” she asked herself in frank dismay. It seemed to her that she could not bear the pain of seeing him wedded to another. She would be sure to turn pale and tremble, and thus betray the secret of her sad heart--her unrequited love. She wished that the wedding were over and done with, so that they might be gone away on their bridal tour before she entered the house. The more she thought of it the more she felt that she could not bear the excitement of the wedding, and at length she resolved to seek out some of her former humble friends and remain with them until Laurier and his bride were gone on their wedding tour. That last night before they landed was the most beautiful they had experienced. The azure dome was gemmed with countless stars that were mirrored in the calm sea, the moon shed a bewitching, silvery light on everything, and the air was as soft as in midsummer. Every one remained on deck till a late hour. They had music and flirting to beguile the time, and Laurier betrayed the fact of Jessie’s talent. “Oh, why did you not tell us before?” they cried. “Oh, do not refuse to sing for us!” They had been so kind that she could not well refuse; besides, she loved to sing as the birds love to warble. She whispered to Laurier: “I will do my best because they have all been so kind to me, but I fear I shall break down thinking of poor papa and the uncertainty of his fate.” He tried to cheer her with hopeful words: