d, and thereat he tossed one,
which the dog caught on the fly and swallowed with the discreetest
blink. And then, with the appreciation of a gourmet, Tancred added:

"It is excellent; may I have another?"

The dish again was passed to him. Before he rose from the table the
majority of the sweets had disappeared. It was evident that both master
and dog had a taste for just such comestibles as these. As he devoured
one and then another, he noticed that Liance was watching him.

"The general was in Mexico some years ago," Mrs. Lyeth added,
inconsequently. "I have heard him speak of the beauty of the women. But
in New York they are more beautiful still, are they not?"

"Yes, they are pretty enough," Tancred answered.

"I hear they propose to the men," Liance interjected.

"Ah, that is a libel. In leap-year, perhaps, and in jest, such a thing
may occur, but--"

"They are well behaved, then?"

"Yes, indeed. I remember, though, one girl--her name was--there, I have
forgotten it. However, a young fellow was evidently taken with her, and
she, as evidently, was taken with him. But for some reason or other he
never seemed to get to the point. One afternoon, when he was drinking
tea with her, the heat of the room--our houses, you know, are fearfully
hot--must have affected her. She went off like that! The young fellow
was at his wits' end. It may be that he had never seen anyone faint
before. 'What shall I do? what shall I do?' he exclaimed, and he was
about to scream for assistance, when the girl in her swoon murmured:
'Kiss me.' He did so and she recovered at once. H'm--they were married
last spring."

During the telling of this anecdote Tancred noticed that the girl's eyes
were still on his. But as the ultimate phrase dropped from him she rose
and left the room.

"She is exquisite," Tancred confided in a whisper to Mrs. Lyeth. To this
that lady assented. "But you--" he added, and then stopped short.

"Let us go to the pavilion, it is cooler there." Mrs. Lyeth had risen,
and Tancred, hesitant still, followed as she led the way.

"But you," he added at last, "you are perfect."

She had found a seat and he another. A fan which she held she unfurled
and shut again with a sudden click. For a moment she toyed with a fold
of her frock, but presently her hand fell to her side. He caught it up
and kissed the finger-tips. At once she drew it from him.

"It is the climate that has affected you," she said, "not I."

"It is