hear of it?"

"It might--and very seriously," returned Loring.

The long somnolent game was suddenly awakened by two blissful errors,
which gave the audience something to jeer at. A tally slipped home for
Boston. A sharp double play redeemed the errors and closed the inning.
The first man up for the Yankees drove a clean two-bagger down the
right foul line; the second man laid down his life nobly with a
beautiful bunt; the Boston pitcher gave a correct imitation of Orville
Wright and presented free rides to the next two Highlanders; big
Sweeney stalked to bat--and the congregation prayed, standing. Under
cover of all this quivering excitement, and with Gresham more absorbed
than ever upon the foul which might yet slay him, Constance turned to
Polly with an intent decisiveness which was quite new to her.

"Arrange it so that I may go home in Mr. Loring's car," she directed.

"Three cheers!" approved Polly, with a spiteful glance at Gresham.

Mr. Courtney, a live-looking elderly gentleman who kept himself more
carefully groomed than many a young man, had shaken hands with Mr.
Gamble quite cordially, had studied him through and through and through
in about half a second of time, and had finished the hand-shake more
cordially than he had begun it.

"The colonel has been saying all sorts of kind things about you,"--he
very graciously stated.

"So he has about you," returned Johnny, smiling into Mr. Courtney's
eyes and liking him.

"I suppose so," admitted Mr. Courtney. "The colonel's always blowing
about his friends, so we mustn't trust each other too far."

"That's a good way to start anyhow," laughed Johnny. "The colonel's
been telling me you're so trusting that you stung yourself."

"How's that?" asked Mr. Courtney, looking at the colonel in perplexity.
"I don't quite understand."

"On that hotel deal," the colonel affably reminded him, and was unkind
enough to laugh.

"You old reprobate!" protested Courtney. "I don't see why you want to
publish my disgrace."

"You deserve it," chuckled the colonel. "It won't hurt for Johnny to
know it though. He's the shrewdest young man of my acquaintance, and he
might be able to figure a way out of your dilemma for you."

"I might even be able to make some money out of it myself," Johnny
frankly acknowledged.

"Jump right in and welcome, young man," invited Courtney. "If you can
pull me out whole I don't care how much you make."

"We'll consider that a bargain," off