A sudden gust of wind drove them back a step, rendering talk
impossible. It covered a gap when Jimmy could not have spoken.
The shock of the information that Ann had met him before made him
dumb. This thing was beyond him. It baffled him.

Her next words supplied a solution. They were under shelter of
one of the boats now and she could make herself heard.

"It was five years ago, and I only met him for a very short
while, but the prejudice has lasted."

Jimmy began to understand. Five years ago! It was not so strange,
then, that they should not recognise each other now. He stirred
up his memory. Nothing came to the surface. Not a gleam of
recollection of that early meeting rewarded him. And yet
something of importance must have happened then, for her to
remember it. Surely his mere personality could not have been so
unpleasant as to have made such a lasting impression on her!

"I wish you could do something better than newspaper work," said
Ann. "I always think the splendid part about America is that it
is such a land of adventure. There are such millions of chances.
It's a place where anything may happen. Haven't you an
adventurous soul, Mr. Bayliss?"

No man lightly submits to a charge, even a hinted charge, of
being deficient in the capacity for adventure.

"Of course I have," said Jimmy indignantly. "I'm game to tackle
anything that comes along."