I came to one that knew
something about Mr. Burke's party?"

I decided to do this.

Then I began to fume impatiently. If only this nice, kind, delightful
young man would go and let me get to the telephone!

But there he stood, urging his suit, telling me that he was obliged to
go off on business to Paris early that afternoon; begging me to let him
have his answer before he had to leave me.

"How long shall you be in Paris?" I asked him.

"A week. Possibly longer. It's such a long, long time----"

"It isn't a long time to give any woman to make up her mind in," I told
him desperately. I thought all the time: "Supposing Million took it into
her head to stay wherever she is for a week without letting me know?
Horrors!"

I went on: "I can't tell you now whether I want to marry you or not.
Just at this moment I don't feel I shall ever want to marry anybody! If
you take your answer now it'll have to be 'No'!"

So then, of course, he said that he would wait. He would wait until he
came back from Paris, hard as it would be to bear. And then there were a
lot more kind and flattering things said about "a girl like me" and "the
one girl in the world," and all that kind of thing. And then, at
last--at last he went, kissing my hand and saying that he would write
and tell me directly he knew when he was coming to see me again.

He went, and I turned to the telephone. But before I had so much as
unhooked the receiver the door of Miss Million's sitting-room opened
after a brief tap, and there stood----

Who but that Power in a frock-coat, the manager of the hotel himself.

"Good morning, Miss," he said to me, with quite an affable nod.

But his eyes, I noticed, were glancing at every detail in the room, at
the telephone book on the floor, at the new novels and magazines on the
table, at the flowers and cushions, at the big carton from Madame
Ellen's that I had not yet taken into the bedroom, at me and my tired
face. "Your young lady, Miss Million, hasn't returned yet, I
understand?"

"No," I said, as lightly as I could. "Miss Million is not yet back."

"Ah! Time off for you, then," said the manager still very pleasantly.
But I could not help thinking that there was a look in his eye that
reminded me of that suspicious waiter at the club.

"Easy life, you young ladies have, it seems to me," said the manager.
"Comfortable quarters here, have you? That's right. How soon do you
think that you may be expecting your young