ly amused her--"well, of course, Alice was--"

"Annoyed, I know. And it was all my fault--or my misfortune. But I
assure you, Mrs. Pasmer, that I thought I was doing something that would
please her--in the highest and noblest way. Now don't you know I did?"

Mrs. Pasmer again wished to laugh, but in the face of Dan's tragedy
she had to forbear. She contented herself with saying: "Of course. But
perhaps it wasn't the best time for pleasing her just in that way."

"It was then or never. I can see now--why, I could see all the
time--just how it might look; but I supposed Alice wouldn't care
for that, and if I hadn't tried to make some reparation then to Mrs.
Frobisher and her sister, I never could. Don't you see?"

"Yes, certainly. But--"

"And Alice herself told me to go and look after them," interposed
Mavering. He suppressed, a little uncandidly, the fact of her first
reluctance.

"But you know it was the first time you had been out together?"

"Yes."

"And naturally she would wish to have you a good deal to herself, or at
least not seeming to run after other people."

"Yes, yes; I know that."

"And no one ever likes to be taken at their word in a thing like that."

"I ought to have thought of that, but I didn't. I wish I had gone to you
first, Mrs. Pasmer. Somehow it seems to me as if I were very young and
inexperienced; I didn't use to feel so. I wish you were always on hand
to advise me, Mrs. Pasmer." Dan hung his head, and his face, usually so
gay, was blotted with gloom.

"Will you take my advice now?" asked Mrs. Pasmer.

"Indeed I will!" cried the young fellow, lifting his head. "What is it?"

"See Alice about this."

Dan jumped to his feet, and the sunshine broke out over his face again.
"Mrs. Pasmer, I promised to take your advice, and I'll do it. I will see
her. But how? Where? Let me have your advice on that point too."

They began to laugh together, and Dan was at once inexpressibly happy.
Those two light natures thoroughly comprehended each other.

Mrs. Pasmer had proposed his seeing Alice with due seriousness, but
now she had a longing to let herself go; she felt all the pleasure that
other people felt in doing Dan Mavering a pleasure, and something more,
because he was so perfectly intelligible to her. She let herself go.

"You might stay to breakfast."

"Mrs. Pasmer, I will--I will do that too. I'm awfully hungry, and I put
myself in your hands."

"Let me see," said Mrs. Pasmer tho