in the hope of happening on the valentine
lady, I suppose. Know his sister?"

"No," said Betty, who was almost speechless with laughter. "Oh, Jack,
listen!" and she told the story of the valentine firm. "Probably his
sister bought it and sent it to him," she finished. "Or anyway some girl
did. Jack, he's looking this way again. Did you tell him I sent it?"

"No," said Jack hastily, "that is--I--well, I only said that the girl I
knew up here sent it. He evidently suspects you. See him stare."

"Jack, how could you?"

"How couldn't I you'd better say," chuckled Jack. "I never heard of this
valentine graft. What should I think, please? Never mind; I'll undeceive
the poor boy at the intermission. He'll be badly disappointed. You see,
he said it was his sister all along, and----"

The curtain rolled slowly up, disclosing the Glee Club grouped in a
rainbow-tinted semicircle about the leader, and the concert began.

At the intermission Jack brought Mr. Winchester and his sister to meet
Betty, and there were more explanations and much laughter. Then Jack
insisted upon meeting the rest of the firm, so Betty hunted up Mary. Her
Harvard man knew the other two slightly, and the story had to be
detailed again for his benefit.

"I say," he said when he had heard it, "that's what I call enterprise,
but you made just one mistake. Next year you must sell your stock to us.
Then all of it will be sure to land with the ladies, and your cousin's
feelings won't be hurt."

"Good idea," agreed Jack, "but let's keep to the living present, as the
poets call it. Are you all good for a sleigh ride to-morrow afternoon?"

"Ah, do say yes," begged Mr. Winchester, looking straight at Betty.

"But your sister said you were going----"

"On the sleeper to-morrow night," finished Mr. Winchester promptly. "And
may I have the heart-shaped sign?"

Betty stopped in Mary's room that night to talk over the exciting events
of the evening. "Betty Wales, your cousin is the nicest man I ever met,"
declared Mary with enthusiasm.

Betty laughed. "I shan't tell you what he said about you. It would make
you entirely too vain. I'm so sorry that Katherine wasn't there, so she
could go to-morrow."

"It was too bad," said Mary complacently. "But then you know virtue is
said to be its own reward. She'll have to get along with that, but I'm
glad we're going to have another one. Those valentines were a lot of
work to do for a girl whose very name I don't know.