He would have looked well in a lace ruffle, with flowing curls. But his hair was short, and he wore rough grey clothes and an unobtrusive tie. The highly arched black eyebrows gave his expression strength, but the very minute, dark mustache which shaded the upper lip was a little too evidently twisted and trained. That was the only outward sign of personal vanity, however, and was not an offensive one, though it gave him a foreign air which Professor Knowles disliked, but which the three Miss Miners thought charming. His manner pleased them, too; for he was always just as civil to them as though they had been young and pretty and amusing, which is more than can be said of the majority of modern youths. His conversation occasionally shocked them, it is true; but the shock was a mild one and agreeably applied, so that they were willing to undergo it frequently. 

 Lawrence was not thinking of the Miss Miners as he watched the dark green islands. If he had thought of them at all during the last half-hour, it had been with a certain undefined gratitude to them for being the means of allowing him to spend a fortnight in the society of Fanny Trehearne. 

 Professor Knowles had not moved from his side during the long silence. Lawrence looked up and saw that he was still there, his extraordinary profile cut out against the cloudless sky. 

 "Will you smoke?" inquired Lawrence, offering him a cigarette. 

 "No, thank you—certainly not cigarettes," answered the Professor, with a superior air.  "You were telling me all about the Miss Miners," he continued; for though he knew none of them, he was of a curious disposition. "You spoke of a Miss Trehearne, I think." 

 "Yes," answered the young man. "Do you know her?" 

 "Oh, no. It's an unusual name, that's all. Are they New York people?" 

 Lawrence smiled at the idea that any one should ask such a question. 

 "Yes, of course," he answered. "New York—since the Flood." 

 "And Miss Trehearne is the only daughter?" enquired the Professor, inquisitively. 

 "She has a brother—Randolph," replied Lawrence, rather shortly; for he was suddenly aware that there was no particular reason why he should talk about the Trehearnes. 

 "Of course, they're relations of the Miners," observed the Professor. 

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