"A nice thing!" he cried. "The girl is safe aboard the lugger, and I don't even tell her to what quarter of the globe she is being lugged. But the sailing directions are easy. We breakfast at Boston. Don't you dare say you cannot eat any breakfast!" "I can, or I shall, at any rate," she retorted bravely. "Then Boston will be the best place on earth at nine o'clock. Afterward we take the Burlington road, and cross Lake Champlain. There's a first-rate hotel on the west shore, and we stay there tonight. Tomorrow we plunge into the Adirondacks, and lose ourselves for as long as we please. How does that program suit my lady?" "Whither thou goest----" she said, and her eyes fell. Thus did they thrust dull care into the limbo of forgetfulness, and if there was standing at the gates of their Eden a frowning angel with a drawn sword, their vision was clouded, and they could not see him. * * * * * America rises early, even in holiday-making Newport; so Mr. Francis Willard did not breakfast in solitary state. When he entered the dining-room at half-past eight next morning he cast a quick glance around the well-filled tables, and ascertained instantly that the one man whom he did not wish to see was absent. Toward the close of the meal he beckoned the head waiter. "Where does Mr. Power sit usually?" he inquired. "Over there, sir, with Mr. Dacre, the English gentleman, at the small table near the second window." Following directions, Willard noted a good-looking man, apparently about forty years old, who was studying the menu intently. As a matter of fact, Dacre had seen the newcomer's signal, and guessed what it portended. "Oh, indeed! Mr. Dacre a friend of his?" went on Willard. "They are often together, sir." "And where is Mr. Power this morning?" "He left by the first train, sir." For some reason this news was displeasing; though Power's departure made plausible any inquiries concerning him. "That's a nuisance," said Willard. "I--wanted to meet him. I came here last night for that purpose. Do you happen to know where he has gone, and for how long?" The head waiter was not in the habit of answering questions about his patrons indiscriminately. "I can't say, I'm sure, sir," he replied; "but if you were to ask Mr. Dacre he might know."