hat, to his own surprise, it was his
turn to blush, whereupon she laughed again.

"Yes," he said, plaintively, not wholly lacking intuition, "I can see
you're the sort of girl that would laugh the minute you see a man really
means anything!"

"'Laugh'!" she cried, gaily. "Why, it might be a matter of life and
death! But if you want tragedy, I'd better put the question at once,
considering the mistake I made with your brother."

Jim was dazed. She seemed to be playing a little game of mockery and
nonsense with him, but he had glimpses of a flashing danger in it;
he was but too sensible of being outclassed, and had somewhere a
consciousness that he could never quite know this giddy and alluring
lady, no matter how long it pleased her to play with him. But he
mightily wanted her to keep on playing with him.

"Put what question?" he said, breathlessly.

"As you are a new neighbor of mine and of my family," she returned,
speaking slowly and with a cross-examiner's severity, "I think it would
be well for me to know at once whether you are already walking out with
any young lady or not. Mr. Sheridan, think well! Are you spoken for?"

"Not yet," he gasped. "Are you?"

"NO!" she cried, and with that they both laughed again; and the pastime
proceeded, increasing both in its gaiety and in its gravity.

Observing its continuance, Mr. Robert Lamhorn, opposite, turned from a
lively conversation with Edith and remarked covertly to Sibyl that Miss
Vertrees was "starting rather picturesquely with Jim." And he added,
languidly, "Do you suppose she WOULD?"

For the moment Sibyl gave no sign of having heard him, but seemed
interested in the clasp of a long "rope" of pearls, a loop of which she
was allowing to swing from her fingers, resting her elbow upon the table
and following with her eyes the twinkle of diamonds and platinum in the
clasp at the end of the loop. She wore many jewels. She was pretty,
but hers was not the kind of prettiness to be loaded with too sumptuous
accessories, and jeweled head-dresses are dangerous--they may emphasize
the wrongness of the wearer.

"I said Miss Vertrees seems to be starting pretty strong with Jim,"
repeated Mr. Lamhorn.

"I heard you." There was a latent discontent always somewhere in her
eyes, no matter what she threw upon the surface of cover it, and just
now she did not care to cover it; she looked sullen. "Starting any
stronger than you did with Edith?" she inquired.

"Oh, keep t