the eyes with a queer little smile at the corners of her lips.

"I'm afraid so," he admitted. "You won't give me away, will you?"

"How can I give you away?" she asked. "Your behavior has been
perfect--of its sort."

"I mean about the dancing," he explained. "If Miss Bultiwell thinks I
know as much about it as I do----"

"I understand," she interrupted. "I won't say a word. Shall we try a
hesitation?"

Here Jacob found a little instruction useful, but he was a born dancer
and very soon gave his instructress complete satisfaction. Just as
they had finished, Sybil came in. She greeted Jacob politely, but with
none of her partner's cordiality.

"I am sorry to be late, Mr. Pratt," she said. "I hope that Grace has
been looking after you."

"Admirably," he replied.

"I suppose you thought I was quite mad when you got my note," she went
on, walking to the mantelpiece and drawing off her gloves.

"Not at all," he assured her. "I was very glad to get it. Very kind of
you to give me the chance of polishing up my dancing."

"Try a fox trot with him, Sybil," Grace suggested. "I think he is
going to be quite good."

Jacob was as clumsy as he dared be, but he was naturally very light on
his feet, and, with an unusually correct ear for music, he found
blunders difficult. They danced to the end without conversation.

"I do not think," Sybil said, a little coldly, "that you will need
many lessons."

"On the contrary," he replied, "I feel that I shall need a great many.
I am rather out of breath. May I have a rest?"

"There will be another pupil very shortly," she warned him.

"Never mind," he answered. "You can give me a longer time to-morrow."

She turned towards him with upraised eyebrows.

"To-morrow? Surely you are not thinking of coming every day?"

"Why not? I get so little exercise in London, and wherever one goes,
nowadays, there is dancing."

"But you don't need the lessons."

"I need the exercise, and indeed I am much worse than you think I am.
That happened to be a very decent tune."

"Don't discourage a pupil," Grace intervened. "We can fit him in every
day, if he wants to come. We charge an awful lot though, Mr. Pratt."

"You ought to," Jacob replied. "You teach so exceptionally well. May I
pay for a few lessons in advance, please," he asked, producing his
pocketbook; "say a dozen?"

"It's a guinea a time," Grace told him. "Don't be rash."

Jacob laid the money upon the desk, and Sybil wrote ou