hroat up for
his inspection, a cigarette between her thin scarlet lips as she looked
at him over her shoulder. At sixteen she could not have been more
outwardly unblemished, and she emanated a heady essence. Her long
green eyes met his keen satiric ones with melting languor. But she
said unexpectedly:

"I hear she's going to marry Mr. Osborne, mother's old beau--or is that
Mr. Dinwiddie? How can one straighten out those old-timers? But it
would be quite appropriate, if she must marry--and I suppose she's
dying to; but I notice she hasn't asked either of them tonight. I
suppose it makes her feel younger to surround herself with young
people. It certainly makes me feel frightfully young---- I mean she
does."

"Do you think it good manners to discuss your hostess at her own table?"

"Oh, manners! You'll always be a Southerner, Lee. New York has always
prided itself on its bad manners. That is the real source of our
strength."

"Pretty poor prop. It seems to me a sign of congenital weakness."

"Oh, we never defend ourselves. By the way, I hear Jim Oglethorpe
rushed poor little Janet off to Egypt because he found her in your
rooms and you refused to marry her. You're not such a gallant
Southerner, after all----"

"What a lie! Who on earth started such a yarn?" But he turned cold
and his hand shook a little as he raised his wine glass.

"It's all over town, and people think you really ought to marry her.
Of course those ridiculous little flappers don't care whether they are
talked about or not, but their families do. I hear that old Mrs.
Oglethorpe is quite ill over the scandal, and she always swore by you."

"Mrs. Oglethorpe, I happen to know, as I dined there last night, was
never better and is delighted with the idea that Jim has taken Janet
abroad to get her away from that rotten crowd."

She looked nonplussed, but returned to the charge. "How stories do get
about! They even say that he horsewhipped you----"

"Pray don't overtax your powers of invention. You know there's no such
story going about or everybody here would have cut me dead. Try
another tack."

"Well, I'll confess I made that up just to get a rise out of you." She
looked at him speculatively. "But about Janet--well, you see, I know
you for a gay deceiver--mother is always using those old expressions
that were the fashion in her--and Mary Ogden's--day. I hear you even
made love to our fair hostess until you found out the t