918," I pointed out coldly, "I shall be learning the pongo."

My next partner had no name that I could discover, but a fund of
conversation.

"Do you tango?" she asked me as soon as we were comfortably seated.

"No," I said, "I don't. But," I added, "I once learned the minuet."

"Oh, they're not very much alike, are they?"

"Not a bit. However, luckily that doesn't matter, because I've forgotten
all the steps now."

She seemed a little puzzled and decided to change the subject.

"Are you going to learn the tango?" she asked.

"I don't think so. It took me four months to learn the minuet."

"But they're quite different, aren't they?"

"Quite," I agreed.

As she seemed to have exhausted herself for the moment, it was obviously
my business to say something. There was only one thing to say.

"Do _you_ tango?" I asked.

"No," she said, "I don't."

"Are you going to learn?"

"Oh, yes!"

"Ah!" I said; and five minutes later we parted for ever.

The next dance really was a tango, and I saw to my horror that I had a
name down for it. With some difficulty I found the owner of it, and
prepared to explain to her that unfortunately I couldn't dance the
tango, but that for profound conversation about it I was undoubtedly the
man. Luckily she explained first.

"I'm afraid I can't do this," she apologised. "I'm so sorry."

"Not at all," I said magnanimously. "We'll sit it out."

We found a comfortable seat.

"Do you tango?" she asked.

I was tired of saying "No."

"Yes," I said.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like to find somebody else to do it with?"

"Quite, thanks. The fact is I do it rather differently from the way
they're doing it here to-night. You see, I actually learnt it in the
Argentine."

She was very much interested to hear this.

"Really? Are you out there much? I've got an uncle living there now. I
wonder if----"

"When I say I learnt it in the Argentine," I explained, "I mean that I
was actually taught it in St. John's Wood, but that my dancing mistress
came from----"

"In St. John's Wood?" she said eagerly. "But how funny! My sister is
learning there. I wonder if----"

She was a very difficult person to talk to. Her relations seemed to
spread themselves all over the place.

"Perhaps that is hardly doing justice to the situation," I explained
again. "It would be more accurate to put it like this. When I
decided--by the way, does your family frequent Paris? No? Good. Well,
when I dec