halt before him. If
the imps of memory must have their little toll at this remeeting, the
flicker passed through her too quickly for her to take note of it. It
woke no palest ghost of rebellion, to walk now. The girl's heart, having
missed a beat, ran away in a wild flutter....

"Did my cards reach you?" said the remembered voice, without preface.
"They just went up, I believe. But I see you mean to go out."

He looked a little pale under the lobby's brilliant lights, but never
had he seemed so handsome and impressive. Carlisle looked up and looked
down, and the sight of him there was an exaltation and heavenly
fulfilment and a garland upon her brow.

"We must have passed them as we came down," said she. "How do you do? I
had no idea you were in this part of the world."

He said that he was just off the train. She presented him to Mrs.
Willing, who hardly repressed a start as she heard and identified
his name.

"Will you come with us for a little drive?" said Carlisle. "We were
just starting out to take the air. Or ..."

Florrie Willing looked intensely eager. Canning hesitated. The feminine
intuitions, of which we have heard so much, naturally divined the cause
of his hesitation, and Florrie rushed into the breach.

"You're excused from our engagement, Cally!" said she, with archness,
and some nobility, too. "I know Mr. Canning doesn't care to parade the
Avenue in our last year's model. You shall have the city to yourselves.
Why not go up to the apartment?"

Carlisle glanced at Canning, who said: "You are very nice and kind, Mrs.
Willing." Mrs. Willing looked at him as much as to say, "I can be five
times as nice as that, if you only knew...."

When she had rushed off, Canning said: "Do you feel like a little walk?"

"Oh, how nice!" said Carlisle.

"Let's stroll up to the Plaza and have tea."

They went out, turned east and came into the Avenue, where, the
afternoon being fine, one million people were methodically stepping on
each other's heels. However, these were people without existence, even
when they jostled into one.

The moment they were out of earshot of the listening clerk, Canning
said, looking straight in front of him:

"Haven't you missed me at all, Carlisle?"

"Oh, yes! I seem to have done hardly anything else."

"I've been learning your name, you see," said Canning, after five steps
in silence. "You won't mind?... Miss Heth would be a sham, after
thinking nothing but Carlisle all thes