of Mrs. Melrose, who was in Florida.

Aunt and niece were magnificently furred and jewelled, magnificently
unaware of the existence of little Mrs. Sheridan of East Orange. Norma
knew in a second that the social ripples had closed over her head; she
was of no further possible significance in the life of either. Leslie
was pretty, bored, ill-tempered; Annie her usual stunning and radiantly
satisfied self. The conversation speedily left Norma stranded, the
chatter of engagements, of scandals, of new names, was all strange to
her, and she sat through some ten minutes of it uncomfortably, longing
to go, and not quite knowing how to start. She said to herself that she
was done with the Melroses; never--never--never again would even their
most fervently extended favour win from her so much as a civil
acknowledgment!

There was a step in the hall, and a voice that drove the blood from
Norma's face, and made her heart begin the old frantic fluttering and
thumping. Before she could attempt to collect her thoughts, the door
opened, and Chris came in. He came straight to Alice, and kissed her,
holding her hand as he greeted Annie and Leslie. Then he came across the
hearthrug, and Norma got to her feet, and felt that his hand was as cold
as hers, and that the room was rocking about her.

"Hello, Norma!" he said, quietly. "I didn't expect to find you here!"

"You haven't seen her since she was married, Chris," Alice said, and
Chris agreed with a pleasant "That's so!"

He sat down, and Norma, incapable of any effort, at least until she
could control the emotion that was shaking her like a vertigo, sank back
into her own chair, unseeing and unhearing. The gold clock on the mantel
ticked and tocked, the other three women chatted and laughed, and Chris
contributed his share to the general conversation. But Norma's one
desperate need was for escape.

He made no protest when she said hasty farewells, but when she had gone
rapidly and almost blindly down the stairway, and was at the front door,
she found him beside her. He got into his fur-collared coat, picked up
his hat, and they descended to the sidewalk together, in the colourless,
airless, sunless light of the winter afternoon.

"Get in my car!" Chris said, indicating the roadster at the curb.

The girl without a word obeyed. His voice, the motion of his clean-cut
mouth, the searching glance of his quick, keen eyes, acted upon her like
a charm. Alice--Wolf--every thing else in