"Always sees just what he does," suggested Eric maliciously.

"Now, boys," said Miss Mae, assuming suddenly a mighty patronage, "I
will not have you hit at Albert and Edith in this way. It will be very
annoying to them. They have a right to act just as absurdly as they
choose. We none of us know how people who are falling in love would
act."

No, the boys agreed this was quite true.

"And I really do suppose they are falling in love, don't you?" queried
Mae.

Yes, they did both believe it.

Just here, up came the two subjects of conversation, looking, it must be
confessed, as much like one subject as any man and wife.

"What are you talking of?" asked Edith, "Madame Tussaud or a French
salad? No matter how trivial the topic, I am sure it has a foreign
flavor."

"There you are mistaken," replied the frank Eric, "we were discussing
you two people, in the most homelike kind of a way."

At this Edith blushed, Albert frowned, Mae scowled at Eric, who opened
his eyes amazedly, Norman Mann looked over the deck railing and laughed,
the wind blew, the sailors heave-ho-ed near by, and there was a grand
tableau vivant for a few seconds.