ce the utmost possible variety of finger gymnastics. To learn to
perform these feats one had to devote his whole lifetime to practising
them, just like any circus acrobat; and so his mind became atrophied,
and a naive and elemental vanity was all that was left to him.

Montague stood for a while staring; and then took to watching the
company, who chattered and laughed all through the performance.
Afterward, he strolled into the billiard-room, where Billy Price and
Chauncey Venable were having an exciting bout; and from there to the
smoking-room, where the stout little Major had gotten a group of young
bloods about him to play "Klondike." This was a game of deadly hazards,
which they played without limit; the players themselves were silent and
impassive, but the spectators who gathered about were tense with
excitement.

In the morning Charlie Carter carried off Alice and Oliver and Betty in
his auto; and Montague spent his time in trying some of Havens's
jumping horses. The Horse Show was to open in New York on Monday, and
there was an atmosphere of suppressed excitement because of this
prospect; Mrs. Caroline Smythe, a charming young widow, strolled about
with him and told him all about this Show, and the people who would
take part in it.

And in the afternoon Major Venable took him for a stroll and showed him
the grounds. He had been told what huge sums had been expended in
laying them out; but after all, the figures were nothing compared with
an actual view. There were hills and slopes, and endless vistas of
green lawns and gardens, dotted with the gleaming white of marble
staircases and fountains and statuary. There was a great Italian walk,
leading by successive esplanades to an electric fountain with a basin
sixty feet across, and a bronze chariot and marble horses. There were
sunken gardens, with a fountain brought from the South of France, and
Greek peristyles, and seats of marble, and vases and other treasures of
art.

And then there were the stables; a huge Renaissance building, with a
perfectly equipped theatre above. There was a model farm and dairy; a
polo-field, and an enclosed riding-ring for the children; and
dog-kennels and pigeon-houses, greenhouses and deer-parks--one was
prepared for bear-pits and a menagerie. Finally, on their way back,
they passed the casino, where musical chimes pealed out the
quarter-hours. Montague stopped and gazed up at the tower from which
the sounds had come.

The more