r young man, very exact in his dress, very stiff in his
carriage, with a not unpleasant face, was standing talking to Jermyn and
his companion. Jermyn, who apparently found the intrusion an annoyance,
was listening to the conversation between the two, with a frown upon his
face and a general attitude of irritation. As Lady Mary and her
escort drew near, the reason for the young American's annoyance
became clearer--his two companions were talking softly, but with great
animation, in a foreign language, which it was obvious that he did not
understand. Peter Ruff's elbow pressed against his partner's arm, and
their pace slackened. He ventured, even, to pause for a moment, looking
into the ballroom as though in search of some one, and he had by no
means the appearance of a man likely to understand Hungarian. Then, to
Lady Mary's surprise, he touched the Count von Hern on the shoulder and
addressed him.

"I beg your pardon, sir," he said, "but I fancy that we accidentally
exchanged programmes, a few minutes ago, at the buffet. I have lost mine
and picked up one which does not belong to me. As we were standing side
by side, it is possibly yours."

"I believe not, sir," he answered, with that pleasant smile which had
gone such a long way toward winning him the reputation of being "a good
fellow" amongst a fairly large circle of friends. "I believe at any
rate," he added, glancing at his programme, "that this is my own. You
mistake me, probably, for some one else."

Peter Ruff, without saying a word, was actor enough to suggest that he
was unconvinced. The Count good-humouredly held out his programme.

"You shall see for yourself," he remarked. "That is not yours, is it?
Besides, I have not been to the buffet at all this evening."

Peter Ruff cast a swift glance down the programme which the Count had
handed him. Then he apologised profusely.

"I was mistaken," he admitted. "I am very sorry."

The Count bowed.

"It is of no consequence, sir," he said, and resumed his conversation.

Peter Ruff passed on with Lady Mary. At a safe distance, she glanced at
him enquiringly.

"It was his programme I wanted to see," Peter Ruff explained. "It is as
I thought. He has had four dances with the Countess--"

"Who is she?" Lady Mary asked, quickly.

"The little dark lady with whom he is talking now," Peter Ruff
continued. "He seems, too, to be going early. He has no dances reserved
after the twelfth. We will go downstairs at onc