Desire was seated upon a moss-covered rock, hugging her knees and gazing out to sea.

It was her favorite attitude and, according to Professor Spence, a very dangerous one, especially in connection with a moss-covered rock.

He would have liked to point out this obvious fact but that would have been fussy--and fussy the professor was firmly determined not to be.

Aunt Caroline was fussy.

The best he could do was to select another rock, not so slippery, and to provide an object lesson as to the proper way of sitting upon it.