I
BASIL was there on the pier, when, crippled by a mid-Atlantic storm, the ship crept in, a day late. A haze of summer heat hung over the bay and the city; a hot breath came from the land. In the crowd she caught sight of him, a head above his neighbours, his eyes eagerly lifted, searching the crowded deck. He saw her, and waved his straw hat. It was a smart Panama, and his light-grey coat looked new. But Basil was always smart. When they met, with a quick clasp of both hands, in the midst of the crowd, Teresa's glance devoured his face, noting its slight pallor, slight sallowness about the eyes.
"You're well?" she said breathlessly.
"Oh, all right. But it's beastly hot! Must get you and the boy straight out of town"
Smiling, he caught Ronald up and kissed him, laughing with pleasure.
"How you've grown, old man! Forgotten me? Do you know who I am?"
"Papa," said Ronald, with his superior smile.
"Good for you—what a memory you've got! …"
He put Teresa, Ronald, and the nurse into a carriage and sent them to a hotel, staying himself to see the luggage through the Custom-house. It
361
