urned to the subject of women, and spoke on it so freely and
fully that Miss Van Tuyn presently pulled him up. Rather to her surprise
he showed unusual meekness under her interruption.

"All right, my girl! I've done! I've done! But I always forget you're
not a young man."

"_Ma foi!_" said Arabian, almost under his breath.

Garstin looked across at him

"She's a Tartar. She'd keep the devil himself in order."

"He deserves restraint far less than you do," said Miss Van Tuyn.

"She won't leave me alone," continued Garstin, flinging one leg over the
arm of his easy chair. "She even attacks me about my painting, says I
only paint the rats of the sewers."

"I never said that," said Miss Van Tuyn. "I said you were a painter of
the underworld, and so you are."

"But Mr. Dick Garstin also paints judges, mademoiselle," said Arabian.

"Oh, lord! Drop the Mister! I'm Dick Garstin _tout court_ or I'm
nothing. Now, Arabian, you know the reason, part of the reason, why I
want to stick you on canvas."

"You mean because--"

He seemed to hesitate, and touched his little Guardsman's moustache.

"Because you're a jolly fine subject and nothing to do with the darlings
that live in the sewers."

"Ah! Thank you!" said Arabian. "But you paint judges."

"I only put that red-faced old ruffian here as a joke. Directly I set
eyes on him I knew he ought to have been in quod himself! Come now, what
do you say? Look here! I'll make a bargain with you. I'll give you the
thing when it's done."

Miss Van Tuyn looked at Garstin in amazement, and missed the sudden
gleam of light that came into Arabian's eyes. But Garstin did not miss
it and repeated:

"I'll give you the thing! Now what do you say? Is it a bargain?"

"But how can I accept?" said Arabian, quickly adding: "And how can I
refuse? Mr.--"

"Drop the Mister, I say."

"Dick Garstin then."

"That's better."

"I wish to tell you that I am not a connoisseur of art. On the other
hand, please, I have an eye for what is fine. Mademoiselle, I hope, will
say it is so?"

He looked at Miss Van Tuyn.

"Mr. Arabian made some remarkably cute remarks about the portraits,
Dick," she said in reply to the glance.

"I care for a fine painting so much that really I do not know how to
refuse the temptation you offer me--Dick Garstin."

Garstin poured himself out another whisky.

"I'll start on it to-morrow," he said, staring hard at the man who had
now become definitely his subj