ed in him?"

"Mr. Forbes Westcott," said Roberta desperately, "I have told you often
and often that I'm not interested in any man except as one or two are my
very good friends. Why can't all girls be allowed to live along in peace
and comfort until they are at least thirty years old? You didn't have
anybody besieging you to marry before you were thirty. If anybody had
you'd have said 'No' quickly enough. You had that much of your life
comfortably to yourself."

He bit his lip, but he was obliged to laugh. His thin, keen face was
more attractive when he laughed, but there was an odd, tense expression
on it which did not leave it even then.

"I can see you are still hopeless," he owned. "But so long as you are
hopeless for other men I can endure it, I suppose. I really meant not to
speak again for a long time, as I promised you. But the thought of that
embryo plutocrat making after you, as he has after so many girls--"

"How many girls, I wonder?" queried Roberta quite carelessly. "Do you
happen to know? Has his fame spread so far?"

"I know nothing about him, of course, except that he's a gay young
spendthrift. It goes without saying that he's made love to every pretty
face, for that kind invariably do."

"If it goes without saying, why say it?--particularly as you don't know
it. I dare say he has--what serious harm? I presume it's quite as likely
they've run after him. I'm sure it's a matter of no concern to me, for I
know him very little and am likely to know him much less now that he
doesn't come to work with Uncle Calvin any more. Let's go back, Mr.
Westcott. I came out to look for pussy-willows, not for
Robby-will-you's!"

With which piece of audacity she dismissed the subject. It certainly was
not a subject which harmonized well with that of Midsummer Day, and the
thought of Midsummer Day, quickened into active life by the unexpected
sight of the person who had made a certain preposterous prophecy
concerning it, was a thought which was refusing to down.

CHAPTER XVII

INTRIGUE

"Hi!--Mr. Kendrick!--I say, Mr. Kendrick! Wait a minute!"

The car, about to leave the curb in front of one of Kendrick & Company's
great city stores, halted. Its driver turned to see young Ted Gray
tearing across the sidewalk in hot pursuit.

"Well, well--glad to see you, Ted, boy. Jump in and I'll take you
along."

Ted jumped in. He gave Richard Kendrick's welcoming hand a hard squeeze.
"I haven't seen you for an a