indeed, it was a relief to her to know that he would not be there.

It occasioned no surprise, even though comments of disapproval waged
louder than ever, when the beautiful young Mrs. Gardiner, the married
belle of the ball, entered, leaning upon Victor Lamont's arm.

Those who saw her whispered one to another that the reigning beauty of
Newport quite surpassed herself to-night--that even the buds had better
look to their laurels. The maids and the matrons, even the gentlemen,
looked askance when they saw Victor Lamont and young Mrs. Gardiner dance
every dance together, and the murmur of stern disapproval grew louder.

At last, the couple was missed from the ball-room altogether. Some one
reported having seen them strolling up and down the beach in the
moonlight. There was no mistaking the tall, broad-shouldered, handsome
Englishman, and the trim, dainty little figure in fleecy white, with the
ermine wrap thrown over the pretty plump shoulders and round neck, on
which rare diamonds, that would have paid a king's ransom, gleamed
fitfully whenever the sportive breeze tossed back the ermine wrap.

Victor Lamont's fickle fancy for his companion had been a short-lived
one. Like all male flirts, he soon tired of his conquests, and longed
for new fields and new faces. He was considering this matter, when he
received a letter that set him thinking. It was from his boon companion,
Egremont, who was doing Long Branch.

There were four pages, written in cipher, which only Lamont could
understand. The last one read as follows:

"Report has it that you are head and ears in love with
a married beauty, and are carrying on a very open
flirtation. Egad! my boy, that will never do. You have
no time to waste in sentiment over other men's wives.
You went to Newport with the avowed intention of
capturing an heiress--some widow's daughter.

"You know how we stand as regards money. Money we must
get somehow, some way--_any way_. We must realize five
thousand dollars to save Hal, between now and this day
week. It remains for you to think of some way to obtain
it. If Hal peached on us, we would go up along with
him, so, you see, the money _must_ be raised somehow.

"My fall on the day I landed here, laying me up with a
sprained ankle, was an unfortunate affair, for it
prevented me from making the harvest we counted on. So
everything falls on your shoulders