"How much?" said he. "I'm loaded."
"I've sent for a hundred thousand," said I.
"Are you going to buy her?" he demanded with astonishment.
Then we fell to a discussion of routes. Harry was for Hawaii; Le
Mire for South America.
We tossed a coin.
"Heads," said Desiree, and so it fell.
I requested Le Mire to keep to the hotel as closely as possible
for the days during which it was necessary for us to remain in
San Francisco. She did so, but with an apparent effort.
I have never seen a creature so full of nervous energy and fire;
only by severe restraint could she force herself to even a small
degree of composure. Harry was with her nearly every minute,
though what they found to talk about was beyond my comprehension.
Neither was exactly bubbling over with ideas, and one cannot say
"I love you" for twenty-four hours a day.
It was a cool, sunny day in the latter part of October when we
weighed anchor and passed through the Golden Gate. I had leased
the yacht for a year, and had made alternative plans in case Le
Mire should tire of the sport, which I thought extremely
probable.
She and Harry were delighted with the yacht, which was not
surprising, for she was as perfect a craft as I have seen.
Pages:
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69