l
have to live up a little to his notion of us." Thea seemed to consider
the suggestion favorably. "If you wish him to be easy in his mind," Fred
went on, "that would help. I think, myself, that we are rather nice
together. Put on one of the new dresses you got down there, and let him
see how lovely you can be. You owe him some pleasure, after all the
trouble he has taken."

Thea laughed, and seemed to find the idea exciting and pleasant. "Oh,
very well! I'll do my best. Only don't wear a dress coat, please. He
hasn't one, and he's nervous about it."

Fred looked at his watch. "Your monument up there is fast. I'll be here
with a cab at eight. I'm anxious to meet him. You've given me the
strangest idea of his callow innocence and aged indifference."

She shook her head. "No, he's none of that. He's very good, and he won't
admit things. I love him for it. Now, as I look back on it, I see that
I've always, even when I was little, shielded him."

As she laughed, Fred caught the bright spark in her eye that he knew so
well, and held it for a happy instant. Then he blew her a kiss with his
finger-tips and fled.

IV

AT nine o'clock that evening our three friends were seated in the
balcony of a French restaurant, much gayer and more intimate than any
that exists in New York to-day. This old restaurant was built by a lover
of pleasure, who knew that to dine gayly human beings must have the
reassurance of certain limitations of space and of a certain definite
style; that the walls must be near enough to suggest shelter, the
ceiling high enough to give the chandeliers a setting. The place was
crowded with the kind of people who dine late and well, and Dr. Archie,
as he watched the animated groups in the long room below the balcony,
found this much the most festive scene he had ever looked out upon. He
said to himself, in a jovial mood somewhat sustained by the cheer of the
board, that this evening alone was worth his long journey. He followed
attentively the orchestra, ensconced at the farther end of the balcony,
and told Thea it made him feel "quite musical" to recognize "The
Invitation to the Dance" or "The Blue Danube," and that he could
remember just what kind of day it was when he heard her practicing them
at home, and lingered at the gate to listen.

For the first few moments, when he was introduced to young Ottenburg in
the parlor of the Everett House, the doctor had been awkward and
unbending. But Fred, as