She looked at him quickly, then lowered her eyes. Charmian knew perfectly well that Andy Jerome was in love with her, and this knowledge did not distress her in the least. She did not know whether or not she was in love with Andy, but she knew that she liked to have his admiring eyes upon her and to note the little caress in his tones when he spoke to her in lowered accents. She knew now that Andy bitterly resented his friend’s interest in her. But, of course, womanlike, she pretended innocence. “Do you think the doctor is interested in me?” she asked. “Humph!” “Why?--do you suppose?” “Heavens and earth, Charmian! Wouldn’t any he-man be interested in a woman like you?” Charmian took a bold step. She was no unsophisticated débutante, this young widow from Alaska. The relations between the sexes were no closed book to her. She was modernly ready and willing to discuss the tender passion. It was an integral part of life, and no false modesty caused her to shrink from facing any of the realities. Furthermore, she was a woman, young and pretty and desirable, and she liked to utilize her world-old heritage of making all men admire her. “You don’t for a moment imagine that Doctor Shonto is in love with me, do you?” she asked, round-eyed. “Humph! Of course he is. And you know it as well as I do, Charmian.” She threw back her head and laughed, while Andy watched her frosty breath and suffered silently. “How ridiculous!” she exclaimed. “To think that a man of the calibre of Doctor Inman Shonto could consider me in such a light as that. Andy, you’re a scream!” “Then why _is_ he with us?”--still gloomily. “That’s just what I’m trying to find out. But your answer is silly--stupid, Andy. But I suppose the novelty of the thing appeals to him, as it does to you and me. After all, the doctor is not so old. I find him quite naïve and boyish at times. Only thirty-four. Why, a man shouldn’t begin to think of being serious until he has passed fifty. Henry Ford says, even, that he ought not to begin to accumulate money until he’s over forty. That from probably the richest man in the world! And the doctor doesn’t look a day over twenty-five, does he?” “I’ve never given his age much thought,” said Andy with impolite abruptness. “Don’t you feel well this morning, Andy? You seem so sort of grouchy.” “I’m feeling fine,” said Andy in the same stiff tones.