re, and in a moment the McPherson turn-out
appeared, with Neil sitting as Jack sat, his back to the horses and his
mother and Blanche opposite. The latter saw Bessie first, and giving her
a haughty stare, spoke quickly to Lady Jane, whose stare was even more
haughty and supercilious. Neither bowed even to Jack, but Neil lifted
his hat with such a look of undisguised astonishment and disapproval on
his face that Jack laughed merrily, for he understood perfectly how
chagrined Neil was to see him there with Bessie. And Neil was chagrined
and out of sorts, and called himself a sneak, and a coward, while to
Jack he gave the name fool with an adjective prefixed. He did not even
hear what his mother and Blanche were saying of Bessie until he caught
the words from the former, "She has rather a pretty face;" then he
roused up and rejoined:

"Rather a pretty face! I should think she had. It is the loveliest face
I ever saw, and I'd rather have it beside me in the park than all the
faces in London!"

"Reely!" Blanche replied, with an upward turn of her nose. "Suppose you
get out and join them; there is room for you by Jack."

"I wish I could," Neil growled, and then he relapsed into silence and
scarcely spoke again until they returned to Grosvenor Square.

As soon as dinner was over he started for Abingdon road, and was told by
Mrs. Buncher, who received him with a slight increase of dignity in her
manner, as became one before whose door carriages and servants in livery
had stood twice in one day, that Mr. McPherson and the young lady had
gone to see "Pinafore" with the gentleman who took them to drive.

"The deuce they have!" Neil muttered and hailing a cab he too drove to
the theater, and securing the best seat he could at that late hour,
looked over the house till he found the party he was searching for,
Archie, in his threadbare coat, and high, standing collar, looking a
little bored for himself, but pleased for Bessie, whose face was radiant
as she watched the progress of the play.

For once Neil forgot the puffs and the linen gown, and thought only of
the exquisitely beautiful face and rippling golden hair, for Bessie's
head was uncovered, and Neil saw that she received quite as much
admiration from the fashionable crowd as did Little Buttercup or the
Captain's daughter, and that Jack looked supremely happy and nodded to
his friends here and there as if to call their attention to the girl
beside him.

"Confound him!"