here." He helped her look. Pretty soon
he would remember an engagement and get away. The search at the end
of the pool proved fruitless. The girl continued to chatter. They had
worked until one-thirty before that grouch of a Rosenblatt would call it
a day. At that she'd rather do water stuff than animal stuff-especially
lions. "Lions? I should think so!" He replied to this. "Dangerous, isn't
it?"

"Oh, it ain't that. They're nothing to be afraid of if you know 'em, but
they're so hot and smelly when you have to get close to 'em. Anything
I really hate, it's having to get up against a big, hot, hairy, smelly
lion."

He murmured a sympathetic phrase and extended his search for the lost
pin to the side of the pool. Almost under the scaffold he saw the shine
of precious stones and called to her as he picked up the pin, a bar pin
splendidly set with diamonds. He was glad that he had found it for her.
It must have cost a great deal of money and she would doubtless be held
responsible for its safe-keeping.

She came dancing to him. "Say, that's fine-your eyes are working, ain't
they? I might 'a' been set back a good six dollars if you hadn't found
that." She took the bauble and fastened it inside her jacket. So the
pin, too, had been a tawdry makeshift. Nothing was real any more. As she
adjusted the pin he saw his moment for escape. With a gallant striving
for the true Clifford Armytage manner he raised the plush hat.

"Well, I'm glad you found Mrs. Rosenblatt's pin-and I guess I'll be
getting on."

The manner must have been defective. She looked through him and said
with great firmness, "Nothing like that, old pippin." Again he was taken
with a violent fit of shivering. He could not meet her eyes. He was
turning away when she seized him by the wrist. Her grip was amazingly
forceful. He doubted if he could break away even with his stoutest
effort. He stood miserably staring at the ground. Suddenly the girl
reached up to pat his shoulder. He shivered again and she continued to
pat it. When his teeth had ceased to be castanets she spoke:

"Listen here, old Kid, you can't fool any one, so quit trying. Don't you
s'pose I've seen 'em like you before? Say, boy, I was trouping while you
played with marbles. You're up against it. Now, c'mon"--with the arm at
his shoulder she pulled him about to face her-"c'mon and be nice-tell
mother all about it."

The late Clifford Armytage was momentarily menaced by a complete
emotional o