the appearance of Ames as a King Vulture, had some
moments before summoned his car and driven to his favorite club to
flood his apprehensions with Scotch high-balls.

"Ah, little sly-boots!" piped Mrs. Gannette, shaking a finger at
Carmen. "I saw you with Reginald just now. I'm awfully wise about such
things. Tell me, dear, when shall we be able to call you the Duchess
of Altern? You lucky girl!"

Carmen's spirits sank, as, without reply, she submitted to the banal
boredom of this blustering dame's society gabble. Mrs. Gannette hooked
her arm into the girl's and led her to a divan. "It's a great affair,
isn't it?" she panted, settling her round, unshapely form out over the
seat. "Dear me! I did intend to come in costume. Was coming as a
tomato. Ha! ha! Thought that was better adapted to my shape. But when
I got the cloth form around me, do you know, I couldn't get through
the door! And my unlovely pig of a husband said if I came looking like
that he'd get a divorce." The corpulent dame shook and wheezed with
the expression of her abundant merriment.

"Well," she continued, "it wasn't his threat that hindered me,
goodness knows! A divorce would be a relief, after living forty years
with him! Say, there goes young Doctor Worley. Speaking of divorce,
he's just got one. It all came round through a joke. Billy Patterson
dared him to exchange wives with him one evening when they were having
a little too much gaiety at the Worley home, and the doctor took the
dare. Ha! ha! The men swapped wives for two days. What do you think of
that! And this divorce was the result. But Billy took his wife back.
He thought it was just a good joke. Kate Worley gets an alimony of
fifty thousand per. But the doctor can stand it. Why, he has a
practice of not less than two hundred and fifty thousand a year!"

"I supposed," murmured Carmen, "that amount of money is a measure of
his ability, a proof of his great usefulness."

"Nothing of the kind," replied Mrs. Gannette. "He's simply in with the
wealthy, that's all. Dear! dear! Do look at that fright over there!
It's Lizzie Wall. Now isn't she simply hideous! Those diamonds are
nothing but paste! The hussy!"

Carmen glanced at the pale, slender woman across the hall, seated
alone, and wearing a look of utter weariness.

"I'd like to meet her," she said, suddenly drawn by the woman's mute
appeal for sympathy.

"Don't do it!" hastily interposed Mrs. Gannette. "She's going to be
dropped. Na