Nor was the dinner unsuccessful. Muriel, resolutely shutting her mind to the thought of so soon losing von Klausen, yet salving her conscience with the brief reflection that, as no positive wrong had been done, so the future was to be clean even of temptation, was almost happy. The Austrian, it is true, was somewhat silent; but Jim held himself altogether at the best. "The fact is," he explained to von Klausen, "I believe that I've been homesick for a long time without knowing." "And now," asked the Captain, looking about the pleasant little dining-room, "you have a home, yes?" "Not here," said Jim. "Not anywhere, in fact; but we soon shall have one. I was not referring to this place. It is all right enough, but we are here only for a few weeks. When I said 'home,' I meant the city that both my wife and I regard as home. I meant New York." "Then you are returning soon?" "Three weeks from to-day." Muriel looked at Jim. "Is not this a sudden decision?" the guest inquired. "Not at all. Muriel and I talked it over the other day and quite agreed, didn't we, dear?" She tried to say "yes," but, though her lips moved, she was mute. She could only nod. "Mrs. Stainton," said von Klausen, looking narrowly at Muriel, "did not mention it to me when we met to-day." "How did that happen, dear?" asked Jim. His eyes met hers. He smiled pleasantly. "You must have forgotten." She wanted to ask him how he had taken her qualified assent to a departure a month hence to be an expression of willingness to sail in three weeks, but there seemed to be something underlying his obvious manner that made her wish to hide her surprise. She wondered if there were anything underlying his manner; she wondered if what troubled her were not the sense of her deception of him. "I forgot," she said. "I booked by telephone just fifteen minutes ago while you were dressing, my dear," said Stainton, "and when I was rude enough to leave the Captain for a few minutes with his _dubonais_. We have an outside stateroom on the upper deck of the _Prinzess Wilhelmina_, and we sail from Genoa." He fell to talking of what he had heard of the advantages of the southern route for the return journey to America. Presently he produced another surprise. "By the way, Captain," he said, "do you know anything about the trains to Lyons? I shall have to run up there to-morrow. I can't get back here until the next day, but I want to start as early as possible." This time Muriel felt herself forced to speak. "Why, Jim," said she, "you never mentioned this to me." "Didn't I?" he said. "That's curious. Or, no, come to think of it, it's not curious, for the letter was waiting for me when we came in, and you had to to run right off to dress, you know." "Why must you go?" "Those French purchasers again." "I thought you were through with them."