Nobody

I suppose they all died."

"And their descendants? – "

"Living on the mainland, most of them. When the war came, they couldnot protect themselves against the English."

"Fancy, Tom," said Lenox. "People liked it so well on these rocks, thatit took ships of war to drive them away!"

"The people that live here now are just as fond of them, I am told."

"What earthly or heavenly inducement? – "

"Yes, I might have said so too, the first hour of my being here, or thefirst day. The second, I began to understand it."

"Do make me understand it!"

"If you will come here at five o'clock to-morrow, Mr. Leno – xin themorning, I mean, – and will watch the wonderful sunrise, the waking upof land and sea; if you will stay here then patiently till ten o'clock, and see the changes and the colours on everything – let the sea and thesky speak to you, as they will; then they will tell you – all you canunderstand!"

"All I can understand. H'm! May I go home for breakfast?"

"Perhaps you must; but you will wish you need not."

"Will you be here?"

"No," said Lois. "I will be somewhere else."

"But I couldn't stand such a long talk with myself as that," said theyoung man.

"It was a talk with Nature I recommended to you."

"All the same. Nature says queer things if you let her alone."

"Best listen to them, then."

"Why?"

"She tells you the truth."

"Do you like the truth?"

"Certainly. Of course. Do not you?"

"Always?"

"Yes, always. Do not you?"

"It's fearfully awkward!" said the young man.

"Yes, isn't it?" Tom echoed.

"Do you like falsehood, Mr. Lenox?"

"I dare not say what I like – in this presence. Miss Lothrop, I am verymuch afraid you are a Puritan."

"What is a Puritan?" asked Lois simply.

"He doesn't know!" said Tom. "You needn't ask him."

"I will ask you then, for I do not know. What does he mean by it?"

"He doesn't know that," said Lenox, laughing. "I will tell you, MissLothrop – if I can. A Puritan is a person so much better than theordinary run of mortals, that she is not afraid to let Nature andSolitude speak to her – dares to look roses in the face, in fact; – hasno charity for the crooked ways of the world or for the peopleentangled in them; a person who can bear truth and has no need offalsehood, and who is thereby lifted above the multitudes of thisworld's population, and stands as it were alone."

"I'll report that speech to Julia," said Tom, laughing.

"But that is not what a 'Puritan' generally means, is it?" said Lois.They both laughed now at the quain't simplicity with which this wasspoken.

"That is what it is," Tom answered.

"I do not think the term is complimentary," Lois went on, shaking herhead, "however Mr. Lenox's explanation may be. Isn't it ten o'clock?"

"Near eleven."

"Then I must go in."

The two gentlemen accompanied her, making themselves very pleasant bythe way. Lenox asked her about flowers; and Tom, who was some thing ofa naturalist, told her about mosses and lichens, more than she knew; and the walk was too short for Lois. But on reaching the hotel she wentstraight to her own room and stayed there. So also after dinner, whichof course brought her to the company, she went back to her solitude andher work. She must write home, she said. Yet writing was not Lois'ssole reason for shutting herself up.

She would keep herself out of the way, she reasoned. Probably thiscompany of city people with city tastes would not stay long atAppledore; while they were there she had better be seen as little aspossible. For she felt that the sight of Tom Caruthers' handsome facehad been a pleasure; and she felt – and what woman does not? – that thereis a certain very sweet charm in being liked, independently of thequestion how much you like in return. And Lois knew, though she hardlyin her modesty acknowledged it to herself, that Mr. Caruthers likedher. Eyes and smiles and manner showed it; she could not mistake it; nay, engaged man though he was, Mr. Lenox liked her too. She did notquite understand him or his manner; with the keen intuition of a truewoman she felt vaguely what she did not clearly discern, and was notsure of the colour of his liking, as she was sure of Tom's. Tom's – itmight not be deep, but it was true, and it was pleasant; and Loisremembered her promise to her grandmother. She even, when her letterwas done, took out her Bible and opened it at that well-known place in2nd Corinthians; "Be not unequally yoked together withunbelievers" – and she looked hard at the familiar words. Then, saidLois to herself, it is best to keep at a distance from temptation. Forthese people were unbelievers. They could not understand one word ofChristian hope or joy, if she spoke them. What had she and they incommon?

Yet Lois drew rather a long breath once or twice in the course of hermeditations. These "unbelievers" were so pleasant. Yes, it was anundoubted fact; they were pleasant people to be with and to talk to.They might not think with her, or comprehend her even, in the greatquestions of life and duty; in the lesser matters of everydayexperience they were well versed. They understood the world and thethings in the world, and the men; and they were skilled and deft andgraceful in the arts of society. Lois knew no young men, – nor old, forthat matter, – who were, as gentlemen, as social companions, to becompared with these and others their associates in graces of person andmanner, and interest of conversation. She went over again and again inmemory the interview and the talk of that morning; and not without asecret thrill of gratification, although also not without a vague halfperception of something in Mr. Lenox's manner that she could not quiteread and did not quite trust. What did he mean? He was Miss Caruthers'property; how came he to busy himself at all with her own insignificantself? Lois was too innocent to guess; at the same time too finelygifted as a woman to be entirely hoodwinked. She rose at last with athird little sigh, as she concluded that her best way was to keep aswell away as she could from this pleasant companionship.

But she could not stay in-doors. For once in her life she was atAppledore; she must not miss her chance. The afternoon was half gone; the house all still; probably everybody was in his room, and she couldslip out safely. She went down on soft feet; she found nobody on thepiazza, not a creature in sight; she was glad; and yet, she would nothave been sorry to see Tom Caruthers' genial face, which was always sovery genial towards her. Inconsistent! – but who is not inconsistent?Lois thought herself free, and had half descended the steps from theverandah, when she heard a voice and her own name. She paused andlooked round.

"Miss Lothrop! – are you going for a walk? may I come with you?" – andtherewith emerged the form of Miss Julia from the house. "Are you goingfor a walk? will you let me go along?"

"Certainly," said Lois.

"I am regularly cast away here," said the young lady, joining her. "Idon't know what to do with myself. Is there anything to do or to seein this place?"

"I think so. Plenty."

"Then do show me what you have found. Where are you going?"

"I am going down to the shore somewhere. I have only begun to findthings yet; but I never in my life saw a place where there was so muchto find."

"What, pray? I cannot imagine. I see a little wild bit of ground, andthat is all I see; except the sea beating on the rocks. It is theforlornest place of amusement I ever heard of in my life!"

"Are you fond of flowers, Miss Caruthers?"

"Flowers? No, not very. O, I like them to dress a dinner table, or tomake rooms look pretty, of course; but I am not what you call 'fond' ofthem. That means, loving to dig in the dirt, don't it?"