ly presently repeated his offence, whereupon Boone pulled
him up gravely, and pointed out his enormity to him. The culprit
grinned the more widely, promised amendment, nodded vigorously, and
danced off, Mrs. Brown remaining speechless throughout. Mr. Linton
smothered a laugh in his beard.

Presently the music came to an end. Old Andy put his fiddle down and
looked along the loft with a happy little smile. The dancers stopped,
and Mr. Boone's voice rose sonorously.

"Seats, please!"

At this, each man rushed with his partner to the side of the loft
previously tenanted by the ladies, and deposited her on the long forms
ranged there. Then the men retreated hastily to the other side.

There was no conversation, nor had there been any through the dance. It
seemed that the poetry of motion must suffice for enjoyment.

Norah and Jim, who had been dancing vigorously, pulled up near the
others.

"Did you see me get hauled over the coals?" asked Wally gleefully. He
had placed Mrs. Brown on a seat, and followed the example of his sex in
retreating.

"Rather--we were in fits, behind you!" said Jim. "Was Dave cross?"

"Oh, quite mild; took my assurance that I didn't know I was sinning,
and forgave me like a man and a brother. And why shouldn't a fellow
cross that floor?"

"Goodness knows; but it's a rule. They dance very strictly, and in many
ways more correctly than we do."

"There are two lovely couples," said Wally, gleefully. "They hold each
other firmly round the neck, and they revolve on the space of a
threepenny bit. It's beautiful. May I try that way with you, Norah?"

"No, you mayn't," laughed Norah; "at least, not here. They might think
we were imitating them."

"Curious penetration on their parts!" rejoined Wally. "Well, can you
tell me why lots of the men hold one arm behind their backs?"

"In my young days that was quite ordinary," Mr. Linton put in. "I
always danced that way--and I was remarkably run after," he added,
modestly. Whereat Wally meekly assured him that he thought the practice
a highly desirable one, and had serious thoughts of adopting it
himself.

"I've been looking at the programme nailed up for the musicians," said
Cecil. "There are some dances I never saw--Varsoviana, Circassian
Circle, and Caledonians."

"In the Varsoviana," said Mr. Linton, retrospectively, "I used to
shine."

"Well, they beat US," said his son. "We can't dance 'em; but we look
on. The first two are round dances