in
Thorhaven. Now they had made up a little party to come and dance in
the promenade hall, with the simple object of enjoying a fair floor and
a band that played in tune.

As they passed Wilf and Caroline, one said eagerly to the other:
"Where's Laura Temple? I don't see anything of her. She and Godfrey
Wilson were to have waited here for us."

"Oh, didn't you know? Got a sore throat and can't----"

They went on, and Caroline breathed again. She had never thought of
Laura being at a dance on the promenade, and the sudden idea of meeting
the original owner of the flame-coloured dress gave her a little shock.
The whole situation, as it might have been, opened out in front of her
for a moment or two, bristling with unpleasantnesses, and she glanced
down at the edge of colour appearing under her coat with a distinct
regret that she had been persuaded by Mrs. Creddle into wearing the
dress. Better far to have stopped at home.

Then there was Wilf, taking her arm with cool possessiveness. "Come
on, Carrie! _I_ aren't going to stop here all night while you think
over your sins." He laughed and the two girls standing near him
laughed too--not that they felt amused, but because laughter was the
accepted accompaniment to such conversations.

So they went along together under the first star that hung high in the
green sky, and the Flamborough light trembled across the water just as
they entered the hot and crowded hall. The spectators--mostly
middle-aged--sat in a solid phalanx round the sides of the room doing
knitting or crochet, hoping against hope to see other folks make fools
of themselves, or afford a spectacle of some sort that might be worth
watching.

Already several couples were whirling round on the polished floor, and
Caroline, who had come bare-headed, took off her coat at once, placed
it in a corner with Wilf's hat, and swung out into the dance. At first
Wilf and she were only conscious of being looked at and anxious to do
their steps with credit, but after a little while Wilf became agreeably
conscious that people were interested in them. He held his partner
more jauntily and redoubled his attention to the dance, occasionally
whispering some sally into Caroline's ear to show how much at ease he
was, and how dashingly he could "carry it off."

Caroline on her part now felt an exhilarated conviction that her own
appearance in the flame-coloured dress was the source of attraction;
and every time s