h.'

'Of course,' I replied. 'Why else should you and Higginson have bothered
to come here?'

He rubbed his hands together. 'That's just it. You're always clevah. You
hit it first shot. But there's wheah the point comes in. At first, I
only thought of how we could circumvent yah. I treated yah as the enemy.
Now, it's all the othah way. Miss Cayley, you're the cleverest woman I
evah met in this world; you extort my admiration.'

I could not repress a smile. I didn't know how it was, but I could see I
possessed some mysterious attraction for the Ashurst family. I was fatal
to Ashursts. Lady Georgina, Harold Tillington, the Honourable Marmaduke,
Lord Southminster--different types as they were, all succumbed without
one blow to me.

'You flatter me,' I answered, coldly.

'No, I don't,' he cried, flashing his cuffs and gazing affectionately at
his sleeve-links. ''Pon my soul, I assuah yah, I mean it. I can't tell
you how much I admiah yah. I admiah your intellect. Every day I have
seen yah, I feel it moah and moah. Why, you're the only person who has
evah out-flanked my fellah, Higginson. As a rule I don't think much of
women. I've been through several London seasons, and lots of 'em have
tried their level best to catch me; the cleverest mammas have been aftah
me for their Ethels. But I wasn't so easily caught: I dodged the Ethels.
With you, it's different. I feel'--he paused--'you're a woman a fellah
might be really proud of.'

'You are too kind,' I answered, in my refrigerator voice.

'Well, will you take me?' he asked, trying to seize my hand. 'Miss
Cayley, if you will, you will make me unspeakably happy.'

It was a great effort--for him--and I was sorry to crush it. 'I regret,'
I said, 'that I am compelled to deny you unspeakable happiness.'

[Illustration: TAKE MY WORD FOR IT, YOU'RE STAKING YOUR MONEY ON THE
WRONG FELLAH.]

'Oh, but you don't catch on. You mistake. Let me explain. You're backing
the othah man. Now, I happen to know about that: and I assuah you, it's
an error. Take my word for it, you're staking your money on the wrong
fellah.'

'I do not understand you,' I replied, drawing away from his approach.
'And what is more, I may add, you could never understand me.'

'Yaas, but I do. I understand perfectly. I can see where you go wrong.
You drew up Marmy's will; and you think Marmy has left all he's worth to
Harold Tillington; so you're putting every penny you've got on Harold.
Well, that's mere