one had
almost said iciness--of demeanor. The women, who formed the definite
interest of the picture, were for the most part young, with a youth that
lent slimness and suppleness to the figure and permeated through the
freely used paint and powder like some unpurchasable essence. Among this
crowd of women some were fair, some brown, a few red-haired, but the
vast majority belonged to the type that was to become familiar to Max as
the true _Montmartroise_--the girl possessed of the dead white face, the
red, sensual lips, the imperfectly chiselled nose, attractive in its
very imperfection, and the eyes--black, brown, or gray--that see in a
single glance to the bottom of a man's soul. Richness of apparel was
not conspicuous among them, but all wore their clothes with the sense of
fitness that possesses the _Parisienne_. Each head was held at the angle
that best displayed the well-dressed hair and cleverly trimmed hat; each
light skirt was held waist-high with a dexterity that allowed the
elaborate petticoat to sweep out from the neat ankles in a whirl of
lace.

Some of these girls danced with pleasure-seeking young Englishmen or
Americans in conventional evening dress, others with little clerks in
ill-fitting clothes and bowler hats, while many chose each other for
partners, and glided over the waxed floor in a perfection of motion
difficult to excel.

Leaning back against the wall, he watched the picture, gaining courage
with familiarity, and unconsciously a little gasp of regret parted his
lips as the waltz crashed to a finish and the dancers moved in a body
toward the tables and the bars. Then for the first time he remembered
Blake, and, looking round, saw his green eyes fixed upon him in a
quizzical, satirical glance.

"Well, the devil has a pleasant way with him, there's no denying it!
Come and find a seat! The next will be one of the special dances--a
_can-can_ or a Spanish dance. I'd like you to see it."

"Who will dance it?"

"Who? Oh, probably, if it's the _can-can,_ half a dozen of the
best-looking of those girls with the elaborate _lingerie_. They're paid
to dance here. They're part of the show."

"I see!" Max was interested, but his voice did not sound very certain.
"And the others?" he added. "That fair girl, for example, sitting at the
table with the hideous, untidy little man in the brown suit?"

Blake's eyes sought out the couple. "What! The two smiling into each
other's eyes? Those, my boy, are tr