--And you have the brightest--"

She dropped her eyes before his, which were looking right into
them--though not until she had given a little flash from them, perhaps
to establish their identity.

"--And you used to say I was your sw--"

"Did I?" (this was very demurely said). "How old was I then?"

"How old are you now?"

"Eighteen," with a slight straightening of the slim figure.

"Impossible!" exclaimed Keith, enjoying keenly the picture she made.

"All of it," with a flash of the eyes.

"For me you are just all of seven years old."

"Do you know who I thought you were?" Her face dimpled.

"Yes; a waiter!"

She nodded brightly.

"It was my good manners. The waiters have struck me much this evening,"
said Keith.

She smiled, and the dimples appeared again.

"That is their business. They are paid for it."

"Oh, I see. Is that the reason others are--what they are? Well, I am
more than paid. My recompense is--you."

She looked pleased. "You are the first person I have met!--Did you have
any idea who I was the other evening?" she asked suddenly.

Keith would have given five years of his life to be able to answer yes.
But he said no. "I only knew you were some one who needed protection,"
he said, trying to make the best of a bad situation. You are too young
to be on the street so late."

"So it appeared. I had been out for a walk to see old Dr. Templeton and
to get a piece of music, and it was later than I thought."

"Whom are you here with?" inquired Keith, to get off of delicate ground.
"Where are you staying?"

"With my cousin, Mrs. Norman Wentworth. It is my first introduction into
New York life."

Just then there was a movement toward the supper-room.

Keith suggested that they should go and find Mrs. Norman. Miss
Huntington said, however, she thought she had better remain where she
was, as Mrs. Norman had promised to come back.

"I hope she will invite you to join our party," she said naively.

"If she does not, I will invite you both to join mine," declared Keith.
"I have no idea of letting you escape for another dozen years."

Just then, however, Mrs. Norman appeared. She was with Ferdy Wickersham,
who, on seeing Keith, looked away coldly. She smiled, greatly surprised
to find Keith there. "Why, where did you two know each other?"

They explained.

"I saw you were pleasantly engaged, so I did not think it necessary to
hasten back," she said to Lois.

Ferdy Wickersham said somethi