th a start that her eyes,
snapping, alert, and eager, were bent not upon his face, but upon his
upper left hand vest pocket, where bulged the one thousand dollars in
bills.

"I am more than honored and I shall be ravished with delight to
comply. But here, where we stand, we are exposed to view from three
sides. If Mr. Crecelius were to look in and see you being kissed by
me, whom he so dislikes, in what a bad plight you would be. Not even
for the exquisite pleasure of kissing you would I subject you to such
a danger. But in the shadow by the outer door, we would not be seen."

As he said these words, Mr. Middleton placed the money in his inside
vest pocket, buttoned his vest, buttoned his inner coat, and buttoned
his overcoat, moving toward the outer door as he did so, the young
woman following him more and more slowly, the light in her eyes dying
with each successive buttoning. In fact, she did not enter into the
shadow at all, and Mr. Middleton stepped back a bit when he threw his
arms about her and pressed her to his bosom. Perfunctorily and coldly
did she yield to his embrace, but whatever ardor was lacking on her
part, was compensated for by Mr. Middleton, who clasped her with
exceeding tightness and showered kisses upon her pouting lips until
she pushed him from her, exclaiming with annoyance:

"You've kissed me quite enough, you great big softy."

Mr. Middleton said nothing of these transactions when on the ensuing
evening he sat in the presence of the young lady of Englewood, nor did
he, when on the evening thereafter he once more sat in the presence of
the urbane prince of the tribe of Al-Yam. Having handed him a bowl of
delicately flavored sherbet, Achmed began to narrate The Adventure of
Nora Sullivan and the Student of Heredity.

_The Adventure of Norah Sullivan and the Student of Heredity._

It was the time of full moon. As the orb of day dropped its red, huge
disk below the western horizon, over the opposite side of the world,
the moon, even more huge and scarcely less red, rose to irradiate with
its mild beams the scenes which the shadows of darkness had not yet
touched. Miss Nora Sullivan, a teacher in the public schools of the
metropolis, sat upon the front porch of the paternal residence
enjoying the loveliness of the vernal prospect and the balm of the
air, for it was in the flowery month of June. Although the residence
of Timothy Sullivan was well within the limits of the municipality o