er mount her bicycle.

This she did in a very curious fashion. She started to run with it,
leapt lightly on one pedal, and then, to Eloquent's amazement, essayed
to throw her other leg over like a boy.

The lady's skirt was tight, the Redmarley roads were extremely muddy,
the unexpected jerk caused the bicycle to skid, and lady and bicycle
came down sideways with considerable violence.

"Damn!" exclaimed Miss Buttermish.

"Oh, those modern girls!" thought the shocked Eloquent as he ran
forward to assist. He pulled the bicycle off Miss Buttermish, and
stood it against the wall. She sat up, her hat very much on one side.

"Do you know," she said rather huskily, "I do believe I've broken my
confounded arm."

She held out her left hand to Eloquent, who pulled her to her feet.
Her right arm hung helpless, and even through her bespattered veil he
could see that she was very white.

"Pray come in and rest for a little," he said concernedly, "and we can
see what has happened."

"I'm sure it's broken, I heard the beastly thing snap----" the girl
stumbled blindly, Eloquent caught her in his arms, and saw that she had
fainted from pain.

He carried her into the house and laid her on the horsehair sofa, put a
cushion under her arm, and seizing the large scissors that his orderly
aunt kept hanging on a hook at the side of the fire, cut her jacket
carefully along the seam from wrist to shoulder. She wore a very
mannish, coloured flannel shirt. This sleeve, too, he cut, and
disclosed a thin arm, extremely brown nearly to the elbow, and very
fair and white above, but the elbow was distorted and discoloured; a
bad break, Eloquent decided, with mischief at the joint as well
probably. He had studied first-aid at classes, and he shook his head.
It did not occur to him to call the little servant to assist him. With
his head turned shyly away he removed the young lady's hat and loosened
her heavy furs. Then he flew for water and a sponge, thinking the
while of her curious Christian name "Elsmaria." She looked
pathetically young and helpless lying there. Eloquent forgot her
militancy and her shocking language in his sorrow over her pain. As he
knelt down by the sofa to sponge her face he started so violently that
he upset a great deal of the water he had brought.

It was already growing dark, but even in the dim light as he looked
closely at Miss Buttermish without her hat, her likeness to Mary
Ffolliot was striking.