and was attended by another
talking-man. Carl told Ruth (though she did not know that he was
telling her) that she had no right to be "so blasted New-Yorkishly
superior and condescending," but he admitted that she was scarcely to
blame, for the man made kindergarten gestures and emitted conversation
like air from an exploded tire.

The important thing was that he heard the man call her "Miss Winslow."

"Great! Got her name--Ruth Winslow!"

Watching the man's lips (occasionally trying to find an excuse for
eavesdropping, and giving up the quest because there was no excuse),
he discovered that Ruth was being honored with a thrilling account of
aviation. The talking-man, it appeared, knew a great deal about the
subject. Carl heard through a rift in the cloud of words that the man
had once actually flown, as a passenger with Henry Odell! For five
minutes on end, judging by the motions with which he steered a
monoplane through perilous abysses, the reckless spirit kept flying
(as a passenger). Ruth Winslow was obviously getting bored, and the
man showed no signs of volplaning as yet. Olive's man departed, and
Olive was also listening to the parlor aviator, who was unable to see
that a terrific fight was being waged by the hands of the two girls in
the space down between them. It was won by Ruth's hand, which got a
death-grip on Olive's thumb, and held it, to Olive's agony, while both
girls sat up straight and beamed propriety.

Carl walked over and, smoothly ignoring the pocket entertainer, said:
"So glad to see you, Miss Winslow. I think this is my dance?"

"Y-yes?" from Miss Winslow, while the entertainer drifted off into the
flotsam of the party. Olive went to join a group about the hostess,
who had just come in to stir up mirth and jocund merriment in the
dining-room, as it had settled down into a lower state of exhilaration
than the canyons of talk-parties require.

Said Carl to Ruth, "Not that there's any dancing, but I felt you'd get
dizzy if you climbed any higher in that aeroplane."

Ruth tried to look haughty, but her dark lashes went up and her
unexpected blue eyes grinned at him boyishly.

"Gee! she's clever!" Carl was thinking. Since, to date, her only
remark had been "Y-yes?" he may have been premature.

"That was a bully strangle hold you got on Miss Olive's hand, Miss
Winslow."

"You saw our hands?"

"Perhaps.... Tell me a good way to express how superior you and I are
to this fool party and it