any one ever said 'will you
let' to me before. This is our house; thank you for seeing me home."
Then with a roguish look in her eyes, she added demurely, but with a
slight emphasis on the last word, "Good bye, my friend."

Brian turned away sadly enough; but he had not gone far when he heard
flying footsteps, and looking back saw Erica once more.

"Oh, I just came to know whether by any chance you want a kitten," she
said; "I have a real beauty which I want to find a nice home for."

Of course Brian wanted a kitten at once; one would have imagined by the
eagerness of his manner that he was devoted to the whole feline tribe.

"Well, then, will you come in and see it?" said Erica. "He really is
a very nice kitten, and I shall go away much happier if I can see him
settled in life first."

She took him in, introduced him to her mother, and ran off in search of
the cat, returning in a few minutes with a very playful-looking tabby.

"There he is," she said, putting the kitten on the table with an air of
pride. "I don't believe he has an equal in all London.

"What do you call him?" asked Brian.

"His name is St. Anthony," said Erica. "Oh, I hope, by the bye, you
won't object to that; it was no disrespect to St. Anthony at all, but
only that he always will go and preach to my gold fish. We'll make him
do it now to show you. Come along Tony, and give them a sermon, there's
a good little kit!"

She put him on a side table, and he at once rested his front paws on a
large glass bowl and peered down at the gold fish with great curiosity.

"I believe he would have drowned himself sooner or later, like Gray's
cat, so I dare say it is a good thing for him to leave. You will be kind
to him, won't you?"

Brian promised that he should be well attended to, and, indeed there
was little doubt that St. Anthony would from that day forth be lapped
in luxury. He went away with his new master very contentedly, Erica
following them to the door with farewell injunctions.

"And you'll be sure to butter his feet well or else he won't stay with
you. Good bye, dear Tony. Be a good little cat!"

Brian was pleased to have this token from his Undine, but at the same
time he could not help seeing that she cared much more about parting
with the kitten than about saying good bye to him. Well, it was
something to have that lucky St. Anthony, who had been fondled and
kissed. And after all it was Erica's very childishness and simplicity
which