her brother and O'Dwyer sat stoically, the doctor
contentedly, and Mrs. Latimer indifferent in her secret musing, Arthur
and Philip followed, with her, the fortunes of _Leonora_. Not until the
curtain fell on act three did she readily join in the chatter of her
friends, and then only when Judge Latimer said to his wife: "You should
have heard Phil sing '_Di quella pira_' when we were at Fort Macleod. He
reached that high note quite as easily as this Italian."

"Don't you believe him, Mrs. Latimer," besought Danvers. "Make allowance
for his well-known partiality."

"Certainly," responded Eva, trying to make her tone indifferent. She
never was quite sure of her voice when speaking directly to this man who
ignored the past.

"Do you sing?" Winifred turned with a quick motion which was
characteristic. "Do you, Senator Danvers?"

"I do not."

"But you did?"

"You bet he did!" blurted out O'Dwyer, ever ready to recite the good
qualities of Danvers. Thereupon he told of the Christmas supper, Colonel
Macleod's request, and the duet. "But they sang in English, so a
Christian could understand--not this Dago lingo," he concluded. The
Irishman's contempt for the soft Italian syllables was irresistible.

"Oh," sighed Winifred, after the laugh had died away, "I wish that I
could have been at Fort Macleod that Christmas night!" she included
Judge Latimer in her friendly glance.

"Mr. O'Dwyer did not tell you that he could sing!" chortled Latimer. But
O'Dwyer begged to be spared, and after some good-natured raillery the
judge acquiesced.

"Has that particular duet already been sung?" Winifred's eyes shone as
she leaned toward her host. "If it has I shall insist upon its being
repeated."

"You are so used to having people do as you ask that I believe you
would," volunteered Eva.

"Of course I would. Everybody does as I wish."

"Perhaps that is because you do not ask impossible things," put in
Senator Danvers. "But to relieve your anxiety, and to prevent your
rising and asking for something that might be refused, I hasten to
assure you that the duet has not been sung. Mr. O'Dwyer forgot to say
that it was the _Miserere_ that we tried to sing for dear old Colonel
Macleod. I'm afraid we did it pretty poorly."

From this the conversation drifted to other matters.

"I don't see Mr. Burroughs, Senator Danvers, although your sister and
niece are in one of the opposite boxes," said Eva, sweeping the house
with her glasses. "