u'll gallantly shove her
off on me, and preempt Miss Carrington. Oh! you're very kind."

"She's not over sixty--and you know it. You're by no means as blind as
you would have me believe. In fact, now that I think of it, there was
something about her that seems familiar."

"You're an adept in many things," laughed Macloud, "but, I reckon,
you're not up to recognizing a brown coat and a brown hat. I think I've
seen the combination once or twice before on a woman."

"Well, what about tea-time--shall we go over?" demanded Croyden.

"I haven't the slightest objection----"

"Really!"

"----to your going along with me--I'm expected!"

"Oh! you're expected, are you! pretty soon it will be: 'Come over and
see us, won't you?'"

"I trust so," said Macloud, placidly.--"But, as you're never coming
back to Northumberland, it's a bit impossible."

"Oh! damn Northumberland!" said Croyden.

"I've a faint recollection of having heard that remark before."

"I dare say, it's popular there on smoky days."

"Which is the same as saying it's popular there any time."

"No, I don't mean that; Northumberland isn't half so bad as it's
painted. We may make fun of it--but we like it, just the same."

"Yes, I suppose we do," said Macloud. "Though we get mighty sick of
seeing every scatterbrain who sets fire to the Great White Way branded
by the newspapers as a Northumberland millionaire. We've got our share
of fools, but we haven't a monopoly of them, by any means."

"We had a marvelously large crop, however, running loose at one time,
recently!" laughed Croyden.

"True!--and there's the reason for it, as well as the fallacy. Because
half a hundred light-weights were made millionaires over night, and,
top heavy, straightway went the devil's pace, doesn't imply that the
entire town is mad."

"Not at all!" said Croyden. "It's no worse than any other big town--and
the fellows with unsavory reputations aren't representative. They just
came all in a bunch. The misfortune is, that the whole country saw the
fireworks, and it hasn't forgot the lurid display."

"And isn't likely to very soon," Macloud responded, "with the whole
Municipal Government rotten to the core, councilmen falling over one
another in their eagerness to plead _nolle contendere_ and escape the
penitentiary, bankers in jail for bribery, or fighting extradition; and
graft! graft! graft! permeating every department of the civic life--and
published by the newspapers' br