shrink. Monia was frankly entranced. Above the gold tissue
of the bodice rose Harmony's exquisite shoulders. Her hair was gold;
even her eyes looked golden. The dressmaker, who worshiped beauty, gave
a pull here, a pat there. If only all women were so beautiful in the
things she made!

She had an eye for the theatrical also. She posed Harmony behind the
curtain, arranged lights, drew down the chiffon so that a bit more of
the girl's rounded bosom was revealed. Then she drew the curtain aside
and stood smiling.

Le Grande paid the picture the tribute of a second's silence. Then:--

"Exquisite!" she said in English. Then in halting German: "Do not change
a line. It is perfect."

Harmony must walk in the gown, turn, sit. Once she caught a glimpse of
herself and was startled. She had been wearing black for so long, and
now this radiant golden creature was herself. She was enchanted and
abashed. The slash in the skirt troubled her: her slender leg had a way
of revealing itself.

The ordeal was over at last. The dancer was pleased. She ordered another
gown. Harmony, behind the curtain, slipped out of the dress and into
her own shabby frock. On the other side of the curtain the dancer
was talking. Her voice was loud, but rather agreeable. She smoked a
cigarette. Scraps of chatter came to Harmony, and once a laugh.

"That is too pink--something more delicate."

"Here is a shade; hold it to your cheek."

"I am a bad color. I did not sleep last night."

"Still no news, Fraulein?"

"None. He has disappeared utterly. That isn't so bad, is it? I could use
more rouge."

"It is being much worn. It is strange, is it not, that a child could be
stolen from the hospital and leave no sign!"

The dancer laughed a mirthless laugh. Her voice changed, became nasal,
full of venom.

"Oh, they know well enough," she snapped. "Those nurses know, and
there's a pig of a red-bearded doctor--I'd like to poison him.
Separating mother and child! I'm going to find him, if only to show them
they are not so smart after all."

In her anger she had lapsed into English. Harmony, behind her curtain,
had clutched at her heart. Jimmy's mother!

CHAPTER XXIII

Jimmy was not so well, although Harmony's flight had had nothing to do
with the relapse. He had found Marie a slavishly devoted substitute, and
besides Peter had indicated that Harmony's absence was purely temporary.
But the breaking-up was inevitable. All day long the child lay in