"Really?"

"An absolute fact. For months I dared not board the _Arabella_, my sea
yacht, for fear of a return of my old malady; but after you deserted me
and came to this--this artificial, dreary, bewildering--"

"Never mind insulting my birthplace, sir!"

"Oh! were you born here, Patsy? Then I'll give the town credit. So,
after you deserted me at Los Angeles--"

"You still had Mrs. Montrose and her nieces, Maud and Flo Stanton."

"I know, and I love them all. But they became so tremendously busy that
I scarcely saw them, and finally I began to feel lonely. Those Stanton
girls are chock full of business energy and they hadn't the time to
devote to me that you people did. So I stood on the shore and looked at
the _Arabella_ until I mustered up courage to go aboard. Surviving that,
I made Captain Carg steam slowly along the coast for a few miles.
Nothing dreadful happened. So I made a day's voyage, and still ate my
three squares a day. That was encouraging."

"I knew all the time it wasn't the voyage that wrecked your stomach,"
said Patsy confidently.

"What was it, then?"

"Ptomaine poisoning, or something like that."

"Well, anyhow, I found I could stand ocean travel again, so I determined