ht herself back to him with a jerk.

"Of course I will! We will, I mean! You and I are to work together,
you know. Now will you please tell me," she continued grimly, "one
person who knew my husband and who will be so very kind as not to call
for the police the minute I come into view?" A moment later she started
forward. "Oh, please!" she cried. "Do that again! You chuckled!
Don't deny it! Go on and really laugh with me!" Her voice, unsteady and
quivering, broke into a merry laugh, and in this Joe's partner joined.
Then she said sternly. "You give me a friend!"

Nourse thought for a moment. "There's only one left on the list," he
replied.

"His name, please--"

"Dwight."

"Business?"

"Music. He shows rich girls how to sing. She stared at him.

"But look here," she said emphatically. "I'm a rich girl--I'm very well
off--and I certainly propose to sing! I used to, in the choir at
home--and I was told I had quite a voice! And I meant to take lessons
in New York--of a tall dark man with curly hair--"

"Dwight," said Nourse, "is fair and fat."

"Never mind. Then he probably has blue eyes. And they twinkle at
you--in the friendliest way--"

"Young woman, I'm your husband's friend."

"Never mind if you are. You're not enough. I want more of his friends.
Now tell me--where did the fat man study? Abroad?"

"In Paris."

"Oh!" she cried. "Were he and Joe together there?"

"They were, for a while--"

"Oh, how nice!" She laughed at him. "What a dear you've been to me,"
she said. "You like me, don't you!"

"Yes--I do."

"Quite a good deal!"

"All right," he said. She was watching his face. "This is new to him,"
she was thinking.

"You believe I don't want money!"

"Yes--"

"Nor friends like Amy's!"

"You don't seem to."

"And I don't. I want friends like you and this Mr. Dwight--and that
odious Sally Crothers who won't even let me in at her door. And her
husband--yes, he'll do. Why how the circle widens!"

"So far," Nourse reminded her, "I'm the only circle you've got."

"Yes, and a very nice one. And now you're going to be a dear, and go to
this man Dwight and say what a remarkable voice I have--and tell him all
my other points, and the hole I'm in and the money I have. Don't forget
that--the money I have--for my acquaintance with Mr. Dwight leads me to
believe that wealth is a great inducement with him. It makes his blue
eyes twinkle so."

"Very well," Nourse answered grimly. "But when you get