At last, Doctor Leduc had come into her tortured mind and she recalled how impressed she had been with his suave, sophisticated manner, the gentle movements of his long, delicate hands suggesting an air of confidence and understanding to her. He was returning home from a medical convention in New York to his practice in Paris, he had told them, and quite timely so it seemed, for the ship's regular physician had suffered a sudden heart seizure and had been hospitalized in New York. The debonair Frenchman had agreed to act in his stead for the crossing.

Sometime in the midst of the early dawn hours she had made up her mind to consult him. Paul had finally fallen asleep and she had cuddled up in a chair, a blanket around her, dozing half-heartedly until the sun had risen well above the beautiful, calm Atlantic. Then, while he still slept, she had quietly bathed and dressed, slipping from their stateroom without his knowing. And now, for some inner reason, she had every confidence that the genteel doctor would in some way be able to help.

***

Paul Arden awakened with a start. Cool air from the opened porthole played across his naked, well-built body, and he sat upright to see that he was alone. He hopped from the bed and did a quick turn about their quarters to assure himself. Janet's things were there; but she was not!

Damn, he thought miserably. What a hell of a way to start a honeymoon.

He lighted a cigarette, grabbed up his robe and went to stare out the porthole. His brow was lined with his deep thought.

God! What've I done? And where's she gotten to at this time of morning?

He'd lost his head completely; there was no denying that. But in Christ's name, what could she expect? He'd quarreled with her the entire year of their engagement over her giving in to him… had even tried to explain to her that virginity was as outdated as silk-hatted diplomats. A young couple in love no longer waited for marriage; they relied upon their love and trust of one another, not some legal hokus-pokus or the presence of a ring on third-finger-left-hand.