Nobody

Lois presently stooped and gathered a flower or two.

"Did yon ever see such lovely white violets?" she said; "and is notthat eyebright delicate, with its edging of colour? There arequantities of flowers here. And have you noticed how deep and rich thecolours are? No, you have not been here long enough perhaps; but theyare finer than any I ever saw of their kinds."

"What do you find down at the shore?" said Miss Caruthers, looking verydisparagingly at the slight beauties in Lois's fingers. "There are noflowers there, I suppose?"

"I can hardly get away from the shore, every time I go to it," saidLois. "O, I have only begun to explore yet. Over on that end ofAppledore there are the old remains of a village, where the people usedto live, once upon a time. I want to go and see that, but I haven't gotthere yet. Now take care of your footing, Miss Caruthers – "

They descended the rocks to one of the small coves of the island. Outof sight now of all save rocks and sea and the tiny bottom of the covefilled with mud and sand. Even the low bushes which grow so thick onAppledore were out of sight, huckleberry and bayberry and others; thewildness and solitude of the spot were perfect. Miss Caruthers found adry seat on a rock. Lois began to look carefully about in the mud andsand.

"What are you looking for?" her companion asked, somewhat scornfully.

"Anything I can find!"

"What can you find in that mud?"

"This is gravel, where I am looking now."

"Well, what is in the gravel?"

"I don't know," said Lois, in the dreamy tone of rapt enjoyment. "Idon't know yet. Plenty of broken shells."

"Broken shells!" ejaculated the other. "Are you collecting brokenshells?"

"Look," said Lois, coming to her and displaying her palm full of seatreasures. "See the colours of those bits of shell – that's a bit of amussel; and that is a piece of a snail shell, I think; and aren't thoselittle stones lovely?"

"That is because they are wet!" said the other in disgust. "They willbe nothing when they are dry."

Lois laughed and went back to her search; and Miss Julia waited awhilewith impatience for some change in the programme.

"Do you enjoy this, Miss Lothrop?"

"Very much! More than I can in any way tell you!" cried Lois, stoppingand turning to look at her questioner. Her face answered for her; itwas all flushed and bright with delight and the spirit of discovery; apretty creature indeed she looked as she stood there on the wet gravelof the cove; but her face lost brightness for a moment, as Loisdiscerned Tom's head above the herbs and grasses that bordered the bankabove the cove. Julia saw the change, and then the cause of it.

"Tom!" said she, "what brought you here?"

"What brought you, I suppose," said Mr. Tom, springing down the bank."Miss Lothrop, what can you be doing?" Passing his sister he went tothe other girl's side. And now there were two searching and peeringinto the mud and gravel which the tide had left wet and bare; and MissCaruthers, sitting on a rock a little above them, looked on; muchmarvelling at the follies men will be guilty of when a pretty facedraws them on.

"Tom – Tom! – what do you expect to find?" she cried after awhile. ButTom was too busy to heed her. And then appeared Mr. Lenox upon thescene.

"You too!" said Miss Caruthers. "Now you have only to go down into themud like the others and complete the situation. Look at Tom! Pokingabout to see if he can find a whole snail shell in the wet stuff there.Look at him! George, a brother is the most vexatious thing to take careof in the world. Look at Tom!"

Mr. Lenox did, with an amused expression of feature.

"Bad job, Julia," he said.

"It is in one way, but it isn't in another, for I am not going to bebaffled. He shall not make a fool of himself with that girl."

"She isn't a fool."

"What then?" said Julia sharply.

"Nothing. I was only thinking of the materials upon which your judgmentis made up."

"Materials!" echoed Julia. "Yours is made up upon a nice complexion.

That bewilders all men's faculties. Do you think she is very pretty,

George?"

Mr. Lenox had no time to answer, for Lois, and of course Tom, at thismoment left the cove bottom and came towards them. Lois was beaming, like a child, with such bright, pure pleasure; and coming up, showedupon her open palm a very delicate little white shell, not a snailshell by any means. "I have found that!" she proclaimed.

"What is that?" said Julia disdainfully, though not with rudeness.

"You see. Isn't it beautiful? And isn't it wonderful that it should notbe broken? If you think of the power of the waves here, that have beatto pieces almost everything – rolled and ground and crushed everythingthat would break – and this delicate little thing has lived through it."

"There is a power of life in some delicate things," said Tom.

"Power of fiddlestick!" said his sister. "Miss Lothrop, I think thisplace is a terrible desert!"

"Then we will not stay here any longer," said Lois. "I am very fond ofthese little coves."

"No, no, I mean Appledore generally. It is the stupidest place I everwas in in my life. There is nothing here."

Lois looked at the lady with an expression of wondering compassion.

"Your experience does not agree with that of Miss Caruthers?" said

Lenox.

"No," said Lois. "Let us take her to the place where you found me thismorning; maybe she would like that."

"We must go, I suppose," groaned Julia, as Mr. Lenox helped her up overthe rocks after the lighter-footed couple that preceded them. "George,I believe you are in the way."

"Thanks!" said the young man, laughing. "But you will excuse me forcontinuing to be in the way."

"I don't know – you see, it just sets Tom free to attend to her. Look athim – picking those purple irises – as if iris did not grow anywhereelse! And now elderberry blossoms! And he will give her lessons inbotany, I shouldn't wonder. O, Tom's a goose!"

"That disease is helpless," said Lenox, laughing again.

"But George, it is madness!"

Mr. Lenox's laugh rang out heartily at this. His sovereign mistress wasnot altogether pleased.

"I do certainly consider – and so do you, – I do certainly considerunequal marriages to be a great misfortune to all concerned."

"Certainly – inequalities that cannot be made up. For instance, too talland too short do not match well together. Or for the lady to be richand the man to be poor; that is perilous."

"Nonsense, George! don't be ridiculous! Height is nothing, and money isnothing; but family – and breeding – and habits – "