The Real Charlotte. 97 



she politely ignored Pamela's attempts to involve her in 

 conversation with him. Her neat brown fringe was out of 

 curl ; long strands of hair blew unbecomingly over her 

 ears ; her feet were very cold, and she finally buried herself 

 to the nose in a fur boa that gave her the effect of a mous- 

 tached and bearded Russian noble, and began, as was her 

 custom during sermons and other periods of tedium, to 

 elaborate the construction of a new tea-gown. 



To do Mr. Hawkins justice, he, though equally ill-treated 

 by fate, rose superior to his disappointment. After his en- 

 counter with Miss Mullen he settled confidentially down in 

 the corner beside Pamela, and amused himself by pulling 

 Dinah's short, fat tail, and puffing cigarette smoke in her face, 

 while he regaled her mistress with an assortment of the 

 innermost gossip of Lismoyle. 



On board the Daphne the aspect of things was less com- 

 fortable. Although the wind was too much in her teeth for 

 her to make much advance for home, there was enough to 

 drive her through the water at a pace that made the long 

 tacks from side to side of the lake seem as nothing, and to 

 give Francie as much as she could do to keep her big hat 

 on her head. She was sitting up on the weather side with 

 Lambert, who was steering ; and Christopher, in the bows, 

 was working the head sails, and acting as movable ballast 

 when they went about. At first, while they were beating 

 out of the narrow channel of Ochery, Francie had found it 

 advisable to lie in a heap beneath a tarpaulin, to avoid the 

 onslaught of the boom at each frequent tack, but now that 

 they were out on the open lake, with the top-sail hoisted, 

 she had risen to her present position, and, in spite of her 

 screams as the sharp squalls came down from the mountains 

 and lifted her hat till it stood on end like a rearing horse, 

 was enjoying herself amazingly. Unhke Miss Hope-Drum- 

 mond, she was pre-eminently one of those who come home 

 unflagging from the most prolonged outing, and to-day's en- 

 tertainment, so far from being exhausting, had verified to 

 the utmost her belief in the charms of the British officer, as 

 well as Miss Fanny Hemphill's prophecies of her success in 

 such quarters. Nevertheless she was quite content to re- 

 turn in the yacht ; it was salutary for Mr. Hawkins to see 

 that she could do without him very well, it took her from 



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