Mr. Floyd took his seat on the other side of her, put his face close to
hers and began to whisper all sorts of nonsense in her ear about me.
"Tell him," said he, "to begin with, that he is a prig."

"But I don't know what a prig is."

"A prig is a handsome fellow born to create disturbance among the
ladies."

She looked around at me and laughed. "Isn't he a goose?" she asked in a
pretended whisper. "Where was it in Europe that he lost his brains? He
has brought none of them home."

"It may have been at Damascus," said Mr. Floyd. "Did I tell you that
after I fell through the trapdoor in Damascus and broke my ribs, they
put a railing about the place and asked a piastre for a look at the spot
where the American gentleman almost came to an untimely end?"

But Helen did not laugh: she put her arm about his neck and brought his
cheek to her lip, and kept it there, giving it mute caresses now and
then, while she smoothed his hair about his temples with her little
hand.

"I'll take some more tea, if you please," remarked Mr. Floyd after a
while in a meek voice.--"I'm obliged to endure a good deal of this sort
of thing, my boy: it's not so unpleasant as it may look, but
nevertheless it requires some stimulant to keep up an emotion of
agreeable surprise. By the bye, what do you think of my little girl, now
that she is quite grown up?"

"Don't dare to tell," said Helen. "I'm dreadfully vain all at once, for
papa flatters me so that the rugged courtesy of the outside world would
seem hard to me. Still, papa's compliments count for very little. When
Georgy comes in presently just listen to what he says to her."

And precisely at this juncture there was a little commotion in the hall,
and Miss Lenox did come in with Tony Thorpe. She had spoken to my
mother, kissed Helen and answered Mr. Floyd's badinage before she saw
me, yet when her eyes did turn toward me she showed no surprise.

"Have you come at last?" she inquired coolly, holding out her hand. "I
am glad to see you again, Mr. Randolph."

I greeted her as calmly, and said, "How are you, Thorpe?" to her
companion, with another shake of the hand. And then everybody sat down,
and there was fresh tea brought. I noticed that Thorpe was quite
assiduous in his attentions to Helen over the cups and saucers, and
seemed as much at home in the house as a tame spaniel. Meanwhile, Miss
Lenox had sat down by my mother and begun telling her the events of the
day. The dejeuner ha