JEALOUSY 165 



not turn his face to look at his rival, and the instant the 

 blow was delivered he withdrew his hand as if to avoid 

 being detected. He gave no sign of anger though he 

 made no effort to conceal his jealousy ; and the other 

 seemed to be aware of the cause of his disquietude. The 

 smirk of indifference on the little lover's face belied the 

 state of mind that impelled his action, and it was patent to 

 all who witnessed the tilt that Aaron was jealous of his 

 guest. From time to time Elisheba would change her 

 seat. Then a similar scene would ensue. 



The whole affair was so comical and yet so real that 

 one could not repress the laughter it evoked. It was the 

 drama of "love's young dream" in real life, in which 

 every man, at some period of his young career, has played 

 each part the same as these two rivals played. Every 

 detail of plot and line was the duplicate of a like incident 

 in the experience of boyhood. 



Elisheba did not seem to encourage the suit of this sim- 

 ian beau, but she did not rebuff him as a true and faithful 

 spouse should do, and I never blamed Aaron for not liking 

 it. She had no right to tolerate the attentions of a total 

 stranger ; but she was feminine, and, perhaps, endowed 

 with all the vanity of her sex, and fond of adulation. 

 However, my sympathies for the devoted little Aaron were 

 too strong for me to permit him to be imposed upon by a 

 rival twice as big and three times as strong as himself ; so 

 I took him and Elisheba away to the after deck, where 

 they had a good time alone. 



Elisheba was never very much devoted to me, but in the 

 early part of her career she began to realize the fact that 



