She did not approach him again during the meal, but seemed to have taken
a sudden interest in the efficiency of the waiters, generally, which she
had not shown before. I do not know whether this was merely an effort
at concealment, or an awakened recognition of her duty; but, after the
fashion of her sex,--and perhaps in contrast to his,--she was kinder
that evening to the average man on account of HIM. He did not, however,
notice it; nor did her absence interfere with his now healthy appetite;
he finished his meal, and only when he rose to take his hat from the
peg above him did he glance around the room. Their eyes met again. As
he passed out, although it was dark, he put on his hat a little more
smartly.

The air was clear and cold, but the outlines of the landscape had
vanished. His companions, with the instinct of tired animals, were
already making their way in knots of two or three, or in silent file,
across the intervening space between the building and their dormitory.
A few had already lit their pipes and were walking leisurely, but the
majority were hurrying from the chill sea-breeze to the warmth and
comfort of the long, well-lit room, lined with blanketed berths, and set
with plain wooden chairs and tables. The young man lingered for a moment
on the wooden platform outside the dining-shed,--partly to evade this
only social gathering of his fellows as they retired for the night, and
partly attracted by a strange fascination to the faint distant glow,
beyond the point of land, which indicated the lights of San Francisco.

There was a slight rustle behind him! It was the young girl who, with a
white woolen scarf thrown over her head and shoulders, had just left the
room. She started when she saw him, and for an instant hesitated.

"You are going home, Miss Woodridge?" he said pleasantly.