osity was greater than her fear.

"What?" she asked, excitedly.

"Really wonderful!" Barnes kept it up.

"What?" Sadie repeated, in the same little gasp.

"See that line?"

He had taken possession of the whole hand now and pointed with a long,
ominous forefinger to the centre of the palm.

"Which line?" inquired Sadie, eagerly, getting her head very close to
his as she pried into the plump, practically lineless palm.

"That one," said Barnes, impressively.

"No."

"Don't you see that it starts almost at your wrist?"

"Now I see. Yes. What of it?"

"Why it runs 'way round the bump, or, that is--the bump of Venus."

"What does that mean?" asked Sadie innocently.

"Oh, a lot. You are very affectionate--and extremely shy."

"Wonderful!" exclaimed Sadie, amazed at the young man's stupendous
skill.

"Now here's a cunning little line," he pursued. "That shows something
too."

"Does it show how to stop the elopement?" asked Sadie, ingenuously,
but making no effort to withdraw her hand.

"Yes, and it shows that you and your friend are"---- He paused to
allow Sadie to fill the gap, and she did.

"Cousins--and we live with Auntie--and we've been in New York a
month."

"And your cousin hasn't known Gladwin long?"

"Only two weeks." Sadie was really awed.

"That's right--two weeks; and she met him at the"----

He said to himself that here was a little game that beat any other
known sport to flinders.

[Illustration: "NOW HERE'S A CUNNING LITTLE LINE", HE PURSUED. "THAT
SHOWS SOMETHING TOO."]

"At a sale of old pictures and art objects," said Sadie, supremely
confident that he was reading her mind.

"A sale of pictures, of course," Barnes led her on.

"Yes, she was bidding on a picture and he whispered to her that it was
a copy--a fraud, and not to buy it. That was the way they got
acquainted. But he wouldn't let her tell auntie anything about him."

"Just a moment," cried Barnes. "Here's a bit of good luck. I'd almost
overlooked that line."

Sadie was on fire with curiosity and looked eagerly into his eyes.

"You meet a dark man--and he prevents the elopement."

"Perhaps that's you!" exclaimed the delighted girl, withdrawing her
hand and jumping to her feet.

"I'm sure it is," said Barnes, nodding his head.

"Oh, I'm so glad."

"But wait," said Barnes, going very close to her. "Please pay
attention to every word I say. _Do all you can to get your cousin to
change her mind; then, if she wo