ve not seen you playing either game. In fact, you moon
about in solitary grandeur, like myself. And--oh, dear! what a string
of questions!--is it true that you wanted to play baccarat with Mr.
Bower for a thousand pounds?"

"It is true that I agreed to share a bank with Mr. Dunston, and the
figure you mention was suggested; but I backed out of the
proposition."

"Why?"

"Because your friend, Mr. Hare, thought he was responsible, in a
sense, having introduced me to Dunston; so I let up on the idea,--just
to stop him from feeling bad about it."

"You really meant to play in the first instance?"

"Yes."

"Well, it was very wicked of you. Only the other day you were telling
me how hard you had to work before you saved your first thousand
pounds."

"From that point of view my conduct was idiotic. But I would like to
carry the story a little further, Miss Wynton. I was in a mood that
night to oppose Mr. Bower for a much more valuable stake if the chance
offered."

"It is rather shocking," said Helen.

"I suppose so. Of course, there are prizes in life that cannot be
measured by monetary standards."

He was not looking at the Orlegna now, and the girl by his side well
knew it. The great revelation that flooded her soul with light while
crossing the Forno came back with renewed power. She did not pretend
to herself that the words were devoid of a hidden meaning, and her
heart fluttered with subtle ecstasy. But she was proud and self
reliant, so proud that she crushed the tumult in her breast, so self
reliant that she was able to give him a timid smile.

"That deals with the second head of the indictment, then," she said
lightly. "Now for the first. Why did you select the Engadine for your
holiday?"

"If I could tell you that, I should know something of the occult
impulses that govern men's lives. One minute I was in London, meaning
to go north. The next I was hurrying to buy a ticket for St. Moritz."

"But----" She meant to continue, "you arrived here the same day as I
did." Somehow that did not sound quite the right thing to say. Her
tongue tripped; but she forced herself to frame a sentence. "It is odd
that you, like myself, should have hit upon an out of the way place
like Maloja. The difference is that I was sent here, whereas you came
of your own free will."

"I guess you are right," said he, laughing as though she had uttered
an exquisite joke. "Yes, that is just it. I can imagine two young
English sw