ice, but hesitated, and at length exclaimed--

"This is not fair--you must, you have no reason to bother--you," and
there he foundered. Ernest could neither lie, snub, nor evade. He was
totally devoid of all the attributes of a smart politician.

"Have you not sufficient faith in my regard for you to trust my motive
in thus apparently seeking to pry into your private life?" I asked.

"You know I think more of you than any one, and I'll tell you the
whole thing," he replied, taking a seat beside me.

"You have made a mistake in assuming that Miss Clay, or whatever her
real name might be (his indifference was well assumed), did not fully
mean her action, and I was a fool to believe you when I had more than
sufficient proof to the contrary. Yesterday morning I happened to go
to Sydney in the same train as she did, and as I happened--entirely by
chance and quite unexpectedly--to meet her on the platform, I lifted
my hat as usual to make it easy for her, and a nice fool I made of
myself. She didn't merely pretend not to see me, but hurried by me in
contempt and came back with that Eweword, who glared at me as though I
were a tramp who had attempted to molest her. I am sure you could not
expect me to go any farther than that, and I only did that because you
call her a friend of yours. Perhaps Eweword doesn't do things that
necessitate the throwing of dirty water on him. It was rather an
uncalled-for thing to do to any one. Perhaps the old dame doesn't
allow her boarders to have visitors, and that is the polite way they
have of informing one to the contrary."

The sky looked rather murky. I said nothing, having nothing ready to
say.

"Oh, by the way, I'm leaving here to-morrow for Adelaide, where I am
to play in some inter-colonial football matches against the New
Zealanders. Is there anything I could do for you over there?" he said,
as though having dismissed the other unworthy trifle from his mind.

"Going to run away because a girl, half accidentally and half out of
nervous irritation, threw a little water on you!"

There I had said what I really thought, and half expected the snub
which, according to the rules of tact, I deserved for my divergence
therefrom, but it did not come; he was a man of the field, and in this
type of encounter had not a chance against one of my perceptions.

He laughed forcedly. "That would be something to turn tail for,
wouldn't it?"

"But are you not doing so? If a beautiful girl did s