o escape from the
appealing eyes.

"But really you ought to, old chap," reproved Barnes. "It's your duty
to."

"Oh, yes, please do!" implored Sadie.

The victim was caught three ways. Both young ladies regarded him
earnestly and with looks that hung upon his words, while Barnes stood
to one side with a solemn long face, elbow in one hand and chin
gripped tightly in the other, manifestly for the moment withdrawn from
rescue duty. There was nothing for the badgered young man to do but
mentally roll up his sleeves and plunge in.

"Well, then," with exaggerated sobriety, "if you must know--I
think--that is, when I was thinking of it--or I mean, what I had
thought of it, when I was thinking of it--turning it over in my mind,
you know--why, it didn't seem to me--I am afraid"--turning squarely on
Helen--"what I am going to say will offend you."

"On the contrary," cried Helen, flushing to her tiny pink ears, "if
you are Travers's best friend, I should like to know just what you
think of it."

"Well, then," said Travers Gladwin desperately, "if you must know the
truth, I don't like it."

"There!" breathed Sadie, overjoyed, and dropped back in her chair.

But Helen Burton was far from pleased.

"You don't like what?" she demanded.

"Why--this thing to-night," he groped.

"You wouldn't say that if you knew Mr. Hogg," the indignant girl flung
out.

"There, Gladwin--that's a clincher--you don't know Hogg."

Whitney Barnes was up to his ears in clover.

"How do you know I don't know him?" asked Gladwin, a little wildly.

"Why, how could you?" said Helen, accusingly.

"How could I know Mr. Hogg?"

"Yes."

"Why, just go out to his pen, introduce yourself and shake his tail."

Helen failed to see the humor of this sally and again the tears
struggled for an outlet.

"Now you're making fun of me," she said, turning away. "I think it's
very unkind."

Travers Gladwin felt a sharp pang of remorse and hated himself for his
break. In his eagerness to repair the wound, he stepped to the young
girl's side and said with great seriousness:

"I wouldn't hurt you in any way for the world."

Helen looked up at him and read the soul of sincerity and sympathy in
his eyes. She was both reassured and embarrassed by the intensity of
his look.

"Really?" she managed to murmur, backing away and sitting down again.

The mention of Mr. Hogg had inflamed Whitney Barnes's curiosity, and
he desired to know more of that unknown