rate."

"Some princess in durance vile? Some villain to smite? Citadels to
storm?" Her smile was enchantment itself.

I hesitated a moment. "What would you say if I told you that this
adventure was merely to prove to myself what a consummate ass the
average man can be upon occasions?"

"Why go to the trouble of proving it?"--drolly.

"I am conceited enough to have some doubts as to the degree."

"Consider it positive."

I laughed. "I am in hopes that I am neither a positive ass nor a
superlative one, only comparative."

"But the adventure; that is the thing that mainly interests me."

"Oh, that is a secret which I should hesitate to tell even to the
Sphinx."

"I see you are determined not to illuminate the darkness,"--and she
turned carelessly toward her uncle, who was serenely contemplating the
glowing end of a fat perfecto.

I bowed and passed out in Sixth Avenue, rather regretting that I had
not the pleasure of the charming young person's acquaintance.

The ten-spot of hearts seemed to have startled her for some reason. I
wondered why.

The snow blew about me, whirled, and swirled, and stung. Oddly enough
I recalled the paragraph relative to Mrs. Hyphen-Bonds. By this time
she was being very well tossed about in mid-ocean. As the old order of
yarn-spinners used to say, little did I dream what was in store for me,
or the influence the magic name of Hyphen-Bonds was to have upon my
destiny.

Bismillah! (Whatever that means!)

II

After half an hour's wandering about I stumbled across a curio-shop, a
weird, dim and dusty, musty old curio-shop, with stuffed peacocks
hanging from the ceiling, and skulls, and bronzes and marbles,
paintings, tarnished jewelry and ancient armor, rare books in vellum,
small arms, tapestry, pastimes, plaster masks, and musical instruments.
I recalled to mind the shop of the dealer in antiquities in Balzac's
_La Peau de Chagrin_, and glanced about (not without a shiver) for the
fatal ass's skin. (I forgot that I was wearing it myself that night!)
I was something of a collector of antiquities, of the inanimate kind,
and for a time I became lost in speculation,--speculation rather
agreeable of its kind, I liked to conjure up in fancy the various
scenes through which these curiosities had drifted in their descent to
this demi-pawnshop; the brave men and beautiful women, the clangor of
tocsins, the haze of battles, the glitter of ball-rooms, epochs and
ages. W