She recalled in contrast the silver and sable tones of the May night when she and Thaine sat on the driveway and saw the creamy water lilies open their hearts to the wooing moonlight and the caressing shadows. It was a fairyland here that night. It was plain daylight now, beautiful, but real. Life seemed a dream that night. It was very real this April morning. The young artist involuntarily drew a deep breath that was half a sigh and stooped to pick up her fallen brushes. But she dropped them again with a glad cry. Far across the lake, in the leaf-checkered sunshine, Thaine Aydelot stood smiling at her. "Shall I stay here and spoil your landscape or come around and shake hands?" he called across to her. "Oh, come over here and tell me how you happened," Leigh cried eagerly. Grass River people blamed the two years of the University life for breaking Thaine Aydelot's interest in Jo Bennington. Not that Jo lacked for admirers without him. Life had been made so pleasant for her that she had not gone away to any school, even after her father's election to office. And down at the University the pretty girls considered Thaine perfectly heartless, for now in his second year they were still baffled by his general admiration and undivided indifference toward all of them. His eager face as he came striding up the driveway to meet Leigh Shirley would have been a revelation to them. "I 'happened' last night, too late to-wake up the dog," Thaine exclaimed. "I happened to run against Dr. Carey, who had a hurry-up call down this way, and he happened to drop me at the Sunflower Inn. He's coming by for breakfast at my urgent demand. This country night practice is enough to kill a doctor. His hair is whiter than ever, young as he is. He said he is going to take a trip out West and have a vacation right soon. I told him all my plans. You can tell him anything, you know. And, besides, I'm hoping he will beat me to the house this morning and will tell the folks I'm here." "Doesn't your mother know you are here?" Leigh asked. "Not yet. I wanted to come down early and tell the lake good-by. I have to leave again in a few hours." The old impenetrable expression had dropped over his face with the words. And nobody knows why the sunshine grew dull and the birds' songs dropped to busy twittering about unimportant things. "Do you always tell it good-by?" Leigh asked, because she could think of nothing else to say. "Not always, but this time it's different. I'm so glad I found you. I should have gone down to Cloverdale, of course, if you hadn't been here, but this saves time." A pink wave swept Leigh's cheek, but she smiled a pleasant recognition of his thoughtfulness. "I've come home to say good-by because I'm going to enlist in the first Kansas regiment that goes to Cuba to fight the Spaniards. And I must hurry back to Lawrence." "Oh, Thaine! What do you mean?" Leigh's face was very white. "Be careful!"