he open
door. While she and the tall, dark-haired girl mingled their contrasting
tresses in an exuberant school-girl caress, the lad and Roy Prescott,
were, boy fashion, slapping one another on the back and shaking hands
with just as much enthusiasm.

"Why, if this isn't simply delightful, Jess, you dear old thing," cried
the delighted Peggy, as, with both hands on her chum's shoulders, she
held Jess Bancroft off at arm's length, the better to scrutinize her
handsome face, "and Jimsy, too," as she turned to the lad with a bright
smile of welcome; "wherever did you two come from?"

"From the clouds?" demanded Roy.

"No, hardly, although I don't wonder at your asking such a question,"
laughed Jess, merrily, exchanging greetings with Roy. "Roy Prescott,
positively I can see your wings sprouting."

They all laughed heartily at this, while Jess ran on to explain that she
and her brother were stopping for the summer at Seaview Towers, a summer
estate which their father, a Wall Street power, had leased for the
season. Of course, explained the merry girl, who had been Peggy's closest
chum at school, her first thought had been to take a spin over in her new
motor car and look up her friends, for Roy and James--or Jimsy--Bancroft
had been almost as close chums as the girls.

"And so this is the wonderful Golden Butterfly that you wrote to me
about?" exclaimed Jess enthusiastically after the first buzz of
conversation subsided.

"Yes, this is it," said Roy with great satisfaction in his tones, "and
I'm proud of it, I can tell you. I think I've made a success of it."

Jess and Jimsy exchanged glances. And then Jess stole a look at Peggy,
but no cloud had crossed the face of Roy's sister.

"Oh, you darling," thought Jess, "you're too sweet for anything. I just
know how much you contributed to the Golden Butterfly's existence, and
yet you won't detract a bit from Roy's self satisfaction."

As for Jimsy Bancroft, he said nothing. He glanced rather oddly at Roy
for an instant. Then his eyes turned to Peggy's face. Perhaps they dwelt
there for rather a long period of time. At any rate, they were still
fixed on her brave beauty when a sudden shadow fell across the stream of
sunlight that poured into the open portal of the workshop.

"Ah! So this is the place in which young genius finds its habitation;"
grated out a rather harsh, unpleasant voice.

They all looked up. Perhaps none of them--Jimsy least of all--was pleased
at t