before had Alice seen
anything like this in her friend's manner.

"How queer!" she murmured.

"What's queer?" Dowling inquired as they sat down.

"Who was that man?"

"Haven't you met him?"

"I never saw him before. Who is he?"

"Why, it's this Arthur Russell."

"What Arthur Russell? I never heard of him." Mr. Dowling was puzzled.
"Why, THAT'S funny! Only the last time I saw you, you were telling me
how awfully well you knew Mildred Palmer."

"Why, certainly I do," Alice informed him. "She's my most intimate
friend."

"That's what makes it seem so funny you haven't heard anything about
this Russell, because everybody says even if she isn't engaged to him
right now, she most likely will be before very long. I must say it looks
a good deal that way to me, myself."

"What nonsense!" Alice exclaimed. "She's never even mentioned him to
me."

The young man glanced at her dubiously and passed a finger over the tiny
prong that dashingly composed the whole substance of his moustache.

"Well, you see, Mildred IS pretty reserved," he remarked. "This Russell
is some kind of cousin of the Palmer family, I understand."

"He is?"

"Yes--second or third or something, the girls say. You see, my sister
Ella hasn't got much to do at home, and don't read anything, or sew, or
play solitaire, you see; and she hears about pretty much everything that
goes on, you see. Well, Ella says a lot of the girls have been talking
about Mildred and this Arthur Russell for quite a while back, you see.
They were all wondering what he was going to look like, you see; because
he only got here yesterday; and that proves she must have been talking
to some of 'em, or else how----"

Alice laughed airily, but the pretty sound ended abruptly with an
audible intake of breath. "Of course, while Mildred IS my most intimate
friend," she said, "I don't mean she tells me everything--and naturally
she has other friends besides. What else did your sister say she told
them about this Mr. Russell?"

"Well, it seems he's VERY well off; at least Henrietta Lamb told Ella he
was. Ella says----"

Alice interrupted again, with an increased irritability. "Oh, never
mind what Ella says! Let's find something better to talk about than Mr.
Russell!"

"Well, I'M willing," Mr. Dowling assented, ruefully. "What you want to
talk about?"

But this liberal offer found her unresponsive; she sat leaning back,
silent, her arms along the arms of her chair, and her ey