ing him up and
down, 'though you certainly have made a bit of a guy of yourself. Who
created those trousers?'

'I--I--was not referring to my change of apparel, Henry, but to that
most unfortunate aberration on my part, when I was impelled by some
strange uncontrollable impulse to bestow a labial salute on your wife.
Heaven only knows that I----'

'As for that, I expect she egged you on,' calmly rejoined that horrid
Henry. 'I know her. You did flirt with him, didn't you, Netta?'

Before I could reply William sprang to his feet and placed himself
before me. 'Stop, Henry!' he exclaimed, 'You have no right to suggest
such a thing. If I took a gentle unsuspecting woman unawares, then I
am willing to stand by the consequences of my rash act. Never for one
moment, I can assure you, did such a thought enter Mrs. Warrington's
head. She was wholly unprepared----'

'I'm not so sure of that,' put in Marion, with a sniff.

I began to feel somewhat of a martyr. 'Yes, it _was_ rather a
surprise,' I remarked.

'Only a moment before,' continued William, 'Mrs. Warrington had said to
me, "If you do kiss me, I shall never forgive you!"' Oh, clumsy,
clumsy William!

'Then you had been discussing it,' commented Marion, who seemed
unusually chilly about the innocent affair.

'Well, I'm hungry, so let's have dinner now,' suggested Henry, 'and we
can settle the discussion afterwards.'

But William strode to the door. 'No, no, Henry, I cannot break bread
in your house again after this distressing incident. I have imposed on
your kindness and good faith, disturbed your trust in me----'

'Well, I forgive you this time if you promise never to bestow any of
those, what d'ye call 'em--labial salutes on Netta again. Now let's
have dinner.'

'No, no, old man, you may forgive me, but I shall never forgive myself.'

Henry began to look irritated. 'For Heaven's sake, Netta, tell him the
truth and admit it was your fault, or we shall never get anything to
eat to-night.'

I sighed, and going up to William gently pulled back his retreating
form by the coat tails. 'You are young, Father William,' I said, 'and
innocent in the wiles of women. You've only been born a few hours as
far as they are concerned--I don't think it's quite safe for you to go
about without your beard just yet. I will tell you nothing but the
truth. I incited you to kiss me.'

'I knew it!' snapped Marion.

'Henry, as you see, has treated me under the F