ties of William's evening.

"Up at the lake," Miss Boke chattered on, "we got to use the hotel
dining-room for the hops. It's a floor a good deal like this floor is
to-night--just about oily enough and as nice a floor as ever I danced
on. We have awf'ly good times up at the lake. 'Course there aren't so
many Men up there, like there are here to-night, and I MUST say I AM
glad to get a chance to dance with a Man again! I told you you'd dance
all right, once we got started, and look at the way it's turned out:
our steps just suit exactly! If I must say it, I could scarcely think of
anybody I EVER met I'd rather dance with. When anybody's step suits in
with mine, that way, why, I LOVE to dance straight through an evening
with one person, the way we're doing."

Dimly, yet with strong repulsion, William perceived that their
interminable companionship had begun to affect Miss Boke with a liking
for him. And as she chattered chummily on, revealing this increasing
cordiality all the while--though her more obvious topics were dancing,
dancing-floors, and "the lake"--the reciprocal sentiment roused in his
breast was that of Sindbad the Sailor for the Old Man of the Sea.

He was unable to foresee a future apart from her; and when she informed
him that she preferred his style of dancing to all other styles shown
by the Men at this party, her thus singling him out for praise only
emphasized, in his mind, that point upon which he was the most
embittered.

"Yes!" he reflected. "It had to be ME!" With all the crowd to choose
from, Mrs. Parcher had to go and pick on HIM! All, all the others went
about, free as air, flitting from girl to girl--girls that danced like
girls! All, all except William, danced with Miss PRATT! What Miss Pratt
had offered HIM was a choice between the thirty-second dance and
the twenty-first extra. THAT was what he had to look forward to: the
thirty-second reg'lar or the twenty-first extra!

Meanwhile, merely through eternity, he was sealed unto Miss Boke.

The tie that bound them oppressed him as if it had been an ill-omened
matrimony, and he sat beside her like an unwilling old husband. All the
while, Miss Boke had no appreciation whatever of her companion's real
condition, and, when little, spasmodic, sinister changes appeared in his
face (as they certainly did from time to time) she attributed them to
pains in his ankle. However, William decided to discard his ankle,
after they had "sat out" two dances