t way of looking at it!" Claire said demurely. For a
moment she debated whether she should break the fact that she herself
was a school-mistress, but decided that it would be wiser to refrain
since the boy would certainly feel more at ease with her in her private
capacity. So for the next half-hour they sat happily together in their
corner, while the boy discoursed on the subjects nearest his heart, and
the girl deftly switched him back to the subjects more congenial.

"Yes, I love cricket. At least I'm sure I should do, if I understood it
better... _Do_ tell me who is the big old lady with the eyeglass and
the diamond tiara?"

"Couldn't tell you to save my life. Rather an out-size, isn't she?
Towers over the men. I say! you ought to go to Lord's Will you turn up
at Lord's next year to see our match? We might meet somewhere and I'd
give you tea. Harrow won't have a chance. We've got a bowler who--"

"Can he really? How nice! Oh, that _is_ a curious-looking man with the
long hair! I'm sure he is something, or does something different from
other people. Is he a musician, do you think? Do you ever have music
on these evenings?"

"Rather! Sometimes the mater hires a big swell, sometimes she lets
loose the amateurs. She knows lots of amateurs, y'know. People who are
trying to be big-wigs, and want the chance to show off. The mater
encourages them. Great mistake if you ask me, but you needn't listen if
you don't want. She has one of these crushes once a month. Beastly
dull, I call them. Can't think why the people come. But she gives them
a rattling good feed. Supper comes on at twelve, in the dining-room
downstairs."

But Claire was not interested in supper. All her attention was taken up
in watching the stream of people passing by, and for a time the youth of
her companion had seemed an advantage, since it made it easy to indulge
her curiosity concerning her fellow-guests by a succession of questions
which might have been boring to an adult. As time passed on, however,
and she became conscious that more than one pair of masculine eyes
turned in her direction, she wished frankly Master Reginald would
remember his mother's instructions and proceed without further delay to
introduce her to "someone nice." To return home and confess to Cecil
that she had spent the evening in company with a schoolboy would be
almost as humiliating as sitting alone in a corner.

It was at this point that Claire be