stupid piece of
folly! The idea of his sending that personal inquiry to the paper!
To-morrow he would see it sandwiched in between samples of shop-girl
romance, questionable intrigues, and divers search-warrants. Ye gods!
"Will the blonde who smiled at gentleman in blue serge, elevated train,
Tuesday, meet same in park? Object, matrimony." Hillard fidgeted. "Young
man known as Adonis would adore stout elderly lady, independently
situated. Object, matrimony." Pish! "Girlie. Can't keep appointment
to-night. Willie." Tush! "A French Widow of eighteen, unencumbered," and
so forth and so on. Rot, bally rot; and here he was on the way to join
them! "Will the lady who sang from _Madame Angot_ communicate with
gentleman who leaned out of the window? J.H. Burgomaster Club."
Positively asinine! The man opposite folded the paper and stuffed it
into his pocket, and its disappearance relieved Hillard somewhat.

There was scarce one chance in a thousand of the mysterious singer's
seeing the inquiry, not one in ten thousand of her answering it. And the
folly of giving his club address! That would look very dignified in
yonder agony column! And then he brightened. He could withdraw it; and
he would do so the very first thing when he went down-town to the
office. "Object, matrimony!" If the woman saw it she would only laugh.
It was all a decent woman could do. And certainly the woman of the past
night's adventure was of high degree, educated; and doubtless the spirit
which had prompted the song was as inexplicable to her this morning as
it had been to him last night. He had lost none of the desire to meet
her, but reason made it plain to him that a meeting could not possibly
be arranged through any personal column in the newspaper. He would
cancel the thing.

He dropped from the omnibus at the park entrance, where he found his
restive mare. He gave her a lump of sugar and climbed into the saddle.
He directed the groom to return for the horse at ten o'clock, then
headed for the bridle-path. It was heavy, but the air was so keen and
bracing that neither the man nor the horse worried about the going.
There were a dozen or so early riders besides himself, and in and out
the winding path they passed and repassed, walking, trotting, cantering.
Only one party attracted him: a riding master and a trio of brokers who
were verging on embonpoint, and were desperate and looked it. They stood
in a fair way of losing several pounds that morning. A