pretty girls on the floor," Mr.
Hamblin went on, in his free-and-easy style, "and the costumes were
exceptionally fine, too. By the way," with a covert look at Ray, "that
Miss Montague is a remarkably beautiful girl."

Ray felt a great inward shock go through him at this observation, and he
was on his guard in an instant.

"Miss Montague!" he repeated, bending a keen glance upon his companion,
"was there a _Miss_ Montague here this evening?"

"I beg ten thousand pardons, Palmer," the young man broke forth, with
well-assumed confusion, "I don't know why I used that name, 'pon my word
I don't, unless it was because of association. I'd heard, you know, that
you were attentive at one time to a Miss Montague, niece to that rich old
chap, Dinsmore, who died recently. The name I should have spoken,
however, was Miss Richards, with whom I saw you talking a while ago."

Louis Hamblin had at once suspected Mona's identity, upon discovering
the lovers sitting together in the balcony. He was confirmed in this
suspicion when he followed them from the pavilion and observed their
tender parting in the hall, and so he had dogged Ray's steps, when he
went out for a walk, with the express purpose of pumping him, and had
thus tried to take him off his guard by speaking of Mona in the way
he did.

"Ah, yes," Ray quietly responded, for he had seen through the trick at
once; "Miss Kitty McKenzie introduced me to Miss Richards early in the
evening. She is an interesting girl, and she informs me that she is in
the employ of your aunt, Mrs. Montague."

"Yes, she's seamstress, or something of that sort," Mr. Hamblin returned,
knocking the ashes from his cigar. "Deuced shame, isn't it, that a
pretty, lady-like girl like her should have to work at such a trade
for her living? I--I believe," with a sly glance at Ray, "if I wasn't
dependent on Aunt Margie--that is, if I had a fortune of my own--I'd like
nothing better than to marry the girl and put her in a position more
befitting her beauty."

It was fortunate, for Mona's sake, that they were walking in the shadow
of the tall spruces, or Louis Hamblin must have seen the look of wrath
that kindled on Ray's face at the presumptuous speech.

His first impulse was to hurl the conceited puppy to the ground for
daring to speak of his betrothed in that flippant manner; but such a
demonstration he knew would involve serious consequences, and at once
betray Mona's identity and make it impossible fo