From the hilltop they could easily see the line of the paper chase which Patricia had laid when she rode over the course yesterday. It stretched across the lower end of the Renwick's meadows along the road, crossing two streams, bordered with willow trees and led straight for Waterman's stone quarry. Ventnor played a careful mid-iron which cleared the brook and bounded forward into the meadow beyond; but McLemore overreached himself trying for distance and found the brook, losing his ball and two strokes; but he teed up, having played five and lay six well down the meadow, within carrying distance of the second stream. But Steve, playing steadily, passed him with his fourth, a long cleek shot which fell just short of the stream. Beyond the creek was the hill to the quarry, three shots for McLemore, two long ones for Ventnor. With excellent judgment McLemore played safely over the creek with a mid-iron, reaching the brink of the quarry in two more, which gave him a chance to tee up on his ninth for the long drive across. Steve Ventnor was less fortunate, dribbling his sixth up the hill, fifty yards short of the quarry, into which, trying a long cleek shot to clear it, he unfortunately drove. He waited to see the Sphynx carefully tee his ball and send it straight down the course which Patricia indicated, and then taking the bag from his caddy helped her into the path which zig-zagged down to where his ball lay, a hundred feet below. Patricia and the Sphynx had chosen the shorter way through the woods at the upper end and Steve and Aurora were alone. At the bottom of the slope behind a projecting crag Steve stopped and faced his companion. "Aurora," he said. "Yes, Steve." "Is it true you're going to marry McLemore?" Aurora picked a flower which grew in a ledge beside her before she replied. "Why do you ask?" "I thought I'd like to know, that's all. People say you are----" "_I_ haven't said so." "Then," eagerly, "you aren't?" "I don't see what right you've got to ask." "I haven't--only I thought I'd like to be the first to congratulate him." "Oh, is that all?" "And I thought I'd like to tell you again that I love you better than anybody could--and that I always will, even if you marry him. He's a very nice fellow but--but I'll be very unhappy----" "Will you? I don't believe it." "Why do you say that?" "Because you're too cool about it. You wouldn't think he was such a nice fellow if you were jealous of him. Why haven't you played more with me this summer?" "I had to work--you know that. What's the use----" "If you love me as you say you do, I don't see how you could be so cool about--about seeing us together----"