?" Roberta showed him a laughing profile over her shoulder. "Where
all paths are soaking, why be fastidious? The wetter we are the more
credit for keeping jolly, as Mark Tapley would say. Lead on, MacDuff!"

"You seem to be leading yourself," shouted Ted, as she unexpectedly
broke into a run.

"It's only seeming, Ted," she called back. "Whenever a woman seems to be
leading, you may take my word for it she's only following the course
pointed out by some man. But--when she seems to be following, look out
for her!"

But of this oracular statement Ted could make nothing and wisely did not
try. He was quite content to splash along in Rob's wake, thinking
complacently how hot and buttery the popped corn would be an hour hence.

CHAPTER IV

PICTURES

Richard Kendrick had been guest at a good many dinners in the course of
his experience, dinners of all sorts and of varying degrees of
formality. Club dinners, college-class dinners, "stag" dinners at
imposing hotels and cafes, impromptu dinners hurriedly arranged by three
or four fellows in for a good time, dinners at which women were present,
more at which they were not--these were everyday affairs with him. But,
strange to say, the one sort of dinner with which he was not familiar
was that of the family type--the quiet gathering in the home of the
members of the household, plus one or two fortunate guests. He had never
sat at such a table under his own roof, and when he was entertained in
the homes of his friends the occasion was invariably made one for
summoning many other guests, and for elaborate feasting and diversion of
all kinds.

It will be seen, therefore, that Richard looked forward to a totally new
experience, without in the least realizing that he did so. His principal
thought concerning the invitation to the Grays' was that he should at
last have the chance to meet again the niece of his employer, in a way
that would show him considerably more of her as a woman than he had been
able to observe on the occasion when they had so hurriedly finished a
luncheon together, and she had escaped from him as fast as possible in
order to set forth on a madcap adventure with her small brother.

On the day of which he expected to spend the evening with the Grays he
found it not a little difficult to keep his mind upon his work with the
Judge, and that gentleman seemed to him extraordinarily particular, even
fussy, about having every fact brought to him painstaking