e wheat in a storm. But Sam
neither bowed nor courtesied. Instead, he turned his head slowly over
his left shoulder, as though he thought she was speaking not to him but
some one beyond him, across the aisle. And then his eyes returned to the
stage and did not again look toward her. It was not the cut direct, but
it was a cut that hurt; and in their turn the eyes of Miss Flagg quickly
sought the stage. At the moment, the people in the audience happened to
be laughing; and she forced a smile and then laughed with them.

Out of the corner of his eye Sam could not help seeing her profile
exposed pitilessly in the glow of the foot-lights; saw her lips tremble
like those of a child about to cry; and then saw the forced, hard
smile--and heard her laugh lightly and mechanically.

"That's all she cares." he told himself.

It seemed to him that in all he heard of her, in everything she did,
she kept robbing him still further of all that was dear to him in Sister
Anne.

For five minutes, conscious of the foot-lights, Miss Flagg maintained
upon her lovely face a fixed and intent expression, and then slowly
and unobtrusively drew back to a seat in the rear of the box. In the'
darkest recesses she found Holworthy, shut off from a view of the stage
by a barrier of women's hats.

"Your friend Mr. Ward," she began abruptly, in a whisper, "is the
rudest, most ill-bred person I ever met. When I talked to him the
other day I thought he was nice. He was nice, But he has behaved
abominably--like a boor--like a sulky child. Has he no sense of humor?
Because I played a joke on him, is that any reason why he should hurt
me?"

"Hurt you?" exclaimed little Holworthy in amazement. "Don't be
ridiculous! How could he hurt you? Why should you care how rude he is?
Ward's a clever fellow, but he fancies himself. He's conceited. He's too
good-looking; and a lot of silly women have made such a fuss over him.
So when one of them laughs at him he can't understand it. That's the
trouble. I could see that when I was telling him."

"Telling him!" repeated Miss Flagg--"Telling him what?"

"About what a funny story you made of it," explained Holworthy. "About
his having the nerve to ask you to feed the monkeys and to lunch with
him."

Miss Flagg interrupted with a gasping intake of her breath.

"Oh!" she said softly. "So-so you told him that, did you? And--what else
did you tell him?"

"Only what you told us--that he said 'the day could not begin