to stand some little time poised there to
retain his balance. Then, very gently and carefully, he turned
straight about, lifting Miss Hastings entirely from her feet and
setting her gravely down on the safe ledge below the sloping rock; but
before he had even had time to let go of her he glanced down into the
road, toward which the turn had faced him, and saw there, looking up
aghast at the tableau, Mr. Princeman and Miss Stevens!

The sharp and instantly suppressed laugh of Princeman came floating up
to them, but Miss Stevens turned squarely about in the direction of the
glade, and being instantly joined by Princeman, they walked quietly
away.

Mr. Turner suddenly found himself perspiring profusely, and was
compelled to mop his brow, but Miss Hastings disdained to give any sign
that anything unusual whatsoever had happened, except by walking with a
limp, albeit a very slight one, as she returned to the glade. That
limp comforted Mr. Turner somewhat, and, spying Miss Stevens in a
little group near the tables, he was very careful to parade Miss
Hastings straight over there and place her limp on display. Miss
Stevens, however, walked away; no mere limp could deceive her!

Well, if she wanted to be miffed at a little accident like that, and
read things falsely, and think the worst of people, she might; that was
all Sam had to say about it! but what he had to say about it did not
comfort him. He rather savagely "shook" Miss Hastings at his first
opportunity, and Vivian's dearest friend, who had been hovering in the
offing, saw him do it, which was a great satisfaction to her. Later
she seized upon him, although he had savagely sworn to stick to the
men, and by some incomprehensible process Sam found himself once more
tete-a-tete with Miss Westlake, just over at the edge of the glade
where the sumac grew. She made him gather a lot of the leaves for her,
and showed him how they used to weave clover wreaths when she was a
little girl, and wove one for him of sumac, and gaily crowned him with
it; and just as she was putting the fool thing on his head he glanced
up, and there Princeman, laughing, was just passing them a little ways
off, in company with Miss Josephine Stevens!

CHAPTER X

THE VALUE OF A PIANOLA TRAINING

On that very same evening Hollis Creek came over to the bowling
tournament, and Miss Stevens, arriving with young Hollis, promptly lost
that perfervid young man, who had become somewhat of a nu