sturdy beggar telling his mendacious tale of undeserved misfortune. To
Dale, however, it was fresh. He listened to it open-eyed. When I had
concluded, he brought his hand down on the arm of the chair.

"By Jove, you're splendid! I always said you were. Just splendid!"

He gulped down half a tumbler of whisky and soda to hide his feelings.

"And you've been doing all this while I've been making a howling fool
of myself! Look here, Simon, you were right all along the line--from the
very first when you tackled me about Lola. Do you remember?"

"Why refer to it?" I asked.

"I must!" he burst in quickly. "I've been longing to put myself square
with you. By the way, where is Lola?"

"I don't know," said I with grim truthfulness.

"Don't know? Has she vanished?"

"Yes," said I.

"That's the end of it, I suppose. Poor Lola! She was an awfully good
sort you know!" said Dale, "and I won't deny I was hit. That's when I
came such a cropper. But I realise now how right you were. I was just
caught by the senses, nothing else; and when she wrote to say it was all
off between us my vanity suffered--suffered damnably, old chap. I lost
the election through it. Didn't attend to business. That brought me to
my senses. Then Essendale took me away yachting, and I had a quiet time
to think; and after that I somehow took to seeing more of Maisie. You
know how things happen. And I'm jolly grateful to you, old chap. You've
saved me from God knows what complications! After all, good sort as Lola
is, it's rot for a man to go outside his own class, isn't it?"

"It depends upon the man--and also the woman," said I, beginning to
derive peculiar torture from the conversation.

Dale shook his wise head. "It never comes off," said he. After a pause
he laughed aloud. "Don't you remember the lecture you gave me? My word,
you did talk! You produced a string of ghastly instances where the
experiment had failed. Let me see, who was there, Paget, Merridew,
Bullen. Ha! Ha! No, I'm well out of it, old chap--thanks to you."

"If any good has come of this sorry business," said I gravely, "I'm only
too grateful to Providence."

He caught the seriousness of my tone.

"I didn't want to touch on that side of it," he said awkwardly. "I know
what an infernal time you had! It must have been Gehenna. I realise
now that it was on my account, and so I can never do enough to show my
gratitude."

He finished his glass of whisky and walked about the tiny ro