or was wide open, and before he could reach
the bell a butler had appeared.

"Is Mr. Grex at home?" Richard enquired.

"Mr. Grex is not at home, sir," was the immediate reply.

"I should like to see Miss Grex, then," Richard proceeded.

The man's face was curiously expressionless, but a momentary silence
perhaps betrayed as much surprise as he was capable of showing.

"Miss Grex is not at home, sir," he announced.

Richard hesitated and just then she came out from the winter-garden. She
was wearing a pink linen morning gown and a floppy pink hat. She had a
book under her arm and a parasol swinging from her fingers. When she saw
Lane, she stared at him in amazement. He advanced a step or two towards
her, his hat in his hand.

"I took the liberty of calling to see your father, Miss Grex," he
explained. "As he was not at home, I ventured to enquire for you."

She was absolutely helpless. It was impossible to ignore his
outstretched hand. Very hesitatingly she held out her fingers, which
Richard grasped and seemed in no hurry at all to release.

"This is quite the most beautiful place I have seen anywhere near Monte
Carlo," he remarked enthusiastically.

"I am glad," she murmured, "that you find it attractive."

He was standing by her side now, his hat under his arm. The butler had
withdrawn a little into the background. She glanced around.

"Did my father ask you to call, Mr. Lane?" she enquired, dropping her
voice a little.

"He did not," Richard confessed. "I must say that I gave him plenty of
opportunities but he did not seem to be what I should call hospitably
inclined. In any case, it really doesn't matter. I came to see you."

She bit her lip, struggling hard to repress a smile.

"But I did not ask you to call upon me either," she reminded him
gravely.

"Well, that's true," Lane admitted, a little hesitatingly. "I don't
quite know how things are done over here. Say, are you English, or
French, or what?" he asked, point blank. "I have been puzzling about
that ever since I saw you."

"I am not sure that my nationality matters," she observed.

"Well, over on the other side," he continued,--"I mean America, of
course--if we make up our minds that we want to see something of a girl
and there isn't any real reason why one shouldn't, then the initiative
generally rests with the man. Of course, if you are an only daughter, I
can quite understand your father being a bit particular, not caring for
men cal