t what she had been leading up
to, but she did not move from her reticent yet sympathetic position in
the retired depths of the great chair, where she knew the shadows and
the glow of the fire would play on her face and show her sweet, serious
pose.

"I want to tell you about a girl I have met this week."

A chill fell upon Gila, but she did not show it, she never even
flickered those long lashes. Another girl! How dared he! The little
white teeth set down sharply on the little red tongue out of sight, but
the sweet, sympathetic mouth in the glow of the firelight remained
placid.

"Yes?" The inflection, the lifted lashes, the whole attitude, was
perfect. He plunged ahead.

"You are so very wonderful yourself that I am sure you will appreciate
and understand her, and I think you are just the friend she needs."

Gila stiffened in her chair and turned her face nicely to the glow of
the fire, so he could just see her lovely profile.

"She is all alone in the city--"

"Oh!" broke forth Gila in almost childish dismay. "Not even a chaperon?"

Courtland stopped, bewildered. Then he laughed indulgently. "She didn't
have any use for a chaperon, child," he said, as if he were a great deal
older than she. "She came here with her little brother to earn their
living."

"Oh, she _had_ a brother, then!" sighed Gila with evident relief.

It occurred to Courtland to be a bit pleased that Gila was so particular
about the conventionalities. He had heard it rumored more than once that
her own conduct overstepped the most lenient of rules. That must have
been a mistake. It was a relief to know it from her own lips. But he
explained, gently:

"The little brother was killed on Monday night," he said, gravely. "Just
run down in cold blood by a passing automobile."

"How perfectly dreadful!" shuddered Gila, shrinking back into the depths
of the chair. "But you know you mustn't believe a story like that! Poor
people are always getting up such tales about rich people's
automobiles. It isn't true at all. No chauffeur would do a thing like
that! The children just run out and get in the way of the cars to
tantalize the drivers. I've seen them myself. Why, our chauffeur has
been arrested three or four times and charged with running over children
and dogs, when it wasn't his fault at all; the people were just trying
to get some money out of us! I don't suppose the little child was run
over. It was probably his own fault."

"Yes, he was