" Rap-tap-tap-tap! came a banging summons on the door, followed by Midshipman Joyce's voice demanding: "Are you in, Danny boy?" Swift as a flash Hepson and Farley leaped forward, fairly snatching Jetson, who was still half dazed, to his feet.

Then he bent forward and dropped a cold nickel inside of Joyce's collar.

The cold coin coursed down Joyce's spine?

I would have given much if I could have undone the work of the last few minutes, for even to be revenged on George I would not willingly have brought my wretched troubles and dangers into Joyce's life.

" "It was Joyce's idea," admitted Tommy modestly, "but it's quite likely there's something in it.

" Tommy chuckled, and sitting down on the bank imitated Joyce's example, rolling his trousers up over the knee.

" I should hardly have applied quite such a complimentary adjective to Mr. Gow's gait myself, but all the same Joyce's diagnosis proved to be quite correct.

In an instant Joyce's head appeared out of the cabin, and the next moment she was on deck waving me a joyous welcome with the frying-pan.

" Joyce's blue eyes were very near tears, but they looked back steadily and bravely into mine.

" Joyce's face looked a little troubled.

I had nothing to support the idea beyond Joyce's bare word that she had seen McMurtrie in the flat on the afternoon of the murder.

Then I returned to the hut suffering from that novel and highly unpleasant sense of loneliness that Joyce's departures had begun to awake in me.

At Eleanor's wish, it was a very simple affair, and as Joyce's bride she was as eager to be off to his rubber-plantation in Malduna as he was to set her up there as mistress of his household.

He baffled me completely, and meanwhile I was in a tingle of fear lest the mate should come up on deck to see what progress the tide had made, or lest the sound of our voices might waken the girl in Joyce's stateroom.

Mrs. Broderick: (Laying her hand on Miss Joyce's shoulder.)

James Joyce's Ulysses; a study.

All these pictures passed so rapidly through Joyce's mind, that she had retraced the experiences of the last three months in as many minutes.

This was not the first time that the old pear-tree had been shaken by Joyce's grief, and it knew that her spells of homesickness always ended in this way.

" Presently the saucepan was sitting on the coals, and Joyce's little pug nose was rapturously sniffing the odor of bubbling molasses.

It was an enchanted spot to Jules, made so by the magic of Joyce's wonderful gift of story-telling.

" Jules, with utmost faith in Joyce's power to do anything that she might undertake, drew a long breath of relief.

" Here she dropped two francs and two sous into Joyce's hand.

" Joyce's face was very sober as she arose to leave the room.

That night, when Marie came in to light the lamps and brush Joyce's hair before dinner, she had some news to tell.

Monsieur Ciseaux, sitting by his fire with the door open between the two rooms, listened to Joyce's merry chatter with almost as much interest as Jules.