at without it there would have been no zest for talk, no noisy
competition to overcome, no hurdles to leap. As it was, the talk
certainly went well, and Mrs. Dan inspected the result of her work from
time to time with smiling satisfaction. From across the table she heard
Colonel Drew's voice,--"Brewster evidently objects to a long siege. He
is planning to carry us by assault."

Mrs. Dan turned to "Subway" Smith, who was at her right--the latest
addition to her menagerie. "What is this friend of yours?" she asked.
"I have never seen such complex simplicity. This new plaything has no
real charm for him. He is breaking it to find out what it is made of.
And something will happen when he discovers the sawdust."

"Oh, don't worry about him," said "Subway," easily; "Monty's at least a
good sportsman. He won't complain, whatever happens. He'll accept the
reckoning and pay the piper."

It was only toward the end of the evening that Monty found his reward
in a moment with Barbara Drew. He stood before her, squaring his
shoulders belligerently to keep away intruders, and she smiled up at
him in that bewildering fashion of hers. But it was only for an
instant, and then came a terrifying din from the dining-room, followed
by the clamor of crashing glass. The guests tried for a moment to be
courteously oblivious, but the noise was so startling that such
politeness became farcical. The host, with a little laugh, went down
the hall. It was the beautiful screen near the ceiling that had fallen.
A thousand pieces of shattered glass covered the place. The table was a
sickening heap of crushed orchids and sputtering candles. Frightened
servants rushed into the room from one side just as Brewster entered
from the other. Stupefaction halted them. After the first pulseless
moment of horror, exclamations of dismay went up on all sides. For
Monty Brewster the first sensation of regret was followed by a
diabolical sense of joy.

"Thank the Lord!" he said softly in the hush.

The look of surprise he encountered in the faces of his guests brought
him up with a jerk.

"That it didn't happen while we were dining," he added with serene
thankfulness. And his nonchalance scored for him in the idle game he
was playing.

CHAPTER VII

A LESSON IN TACT

Mr. Brewster's butler was surprised and annoyed. For the first time in
his official career he had unbent so far as to manifest a personal
interest in the welfare of his master. He was o