ht be as splendid as he
was if we put on spangled tights."

I had to whisper because Mr. Briggs was near me, and I did not want to
hurt his feelings. Mrs. Ascher may not have heard me. She certainly did
not answer; I went on:

"Thus there may be far more beauty in the world than we suspect. We may
be meeting men every day who have the figures of Greek gods underneath
their absurd coats. It's a most consoling thought."

It did not console Mrs. Ascher in the least; but I thought a little more
of it might be good for her.

"In the same way," I said, "heroic hearts may be beating under the
trappings of conventionality and great souls may----"

I meant to work the idea out; but Mrs. Ascher cut me short by saying
that she had a headache. There was every excuse for her. She wanted to
see the muscles of Mr. Briggs' shoulders and she wanted Tim Gorman to
sit beside her. Double disappointments of this kind often bring on the
most violent headaches.

The supper party was a failure. The Galleotti men would talk freely
only to Tim Gorman and relapsed into gaping silence when Ascher spoke
to them. Mrs. Briggs would not speak at all, until Gorman, who has the
finest social talent of any man I ever met, talked to her about her
baby. On that subject she actually chattered to the disgust of Mrs.
Ascher, who has no children herself and regards women who have as her
personal enemies. We had sausages and mashed potatoes to eat. We drank
beer. Even Ascher drank a little beer, though I know he hated it.

Not a word was said about Tim's cash register until the Galleotti
family went away and the party broke up. Then Gorman suddenly sprang
the subject on Ascher. Mrs. Ascher, having snubbed me with her headache
story, at last captured Tim Gorman. She spoke quite kindly to him and
tried to teach him to help her on with her cloak, a garment which Tim
was at first afraid to touch. I heard her, when Tim was at last holding
the cloak, asking him to sit for her in her studio. Tim has no very
noticeable physical development, but he has very beautiful eyes. Mrs.
Ascher may have wanted him as a model for a figure of Sir Galahad. Her
interest in the boy gave us a chance of talking business.

It was not a chance that I should have used if I had been Gorman. It
seemed to me foolish to lay a complicated scheme before a man who has
just been severely tried in temper by unaccustomed kinds of food and
drink. However, Gorman set out the case of the cash