ay saw in a flash while his bus crossed Broadway on its way
to the Avenue. His eyes had become accustomed to this brilliance in
the weeks that had passed since his descent upon New York, but
familiarity had not yet dulled the wonder of it.

The Avenue offered a more subdued picture. This facet showed a glimpse
of the city lovelier and more leisurely, though not one so feverishly
gay. It carried his mind to Beatrice Whitford. Some touch of the
quality of Fifth Avenue was in her soul. It expressed itself in the
simple elegance of her dress and in the fineness of the graceful, vital
body. Her gayety was not at all the high spirits of Broadway, but
there were times when her kinship to Fifth Avenue knifed the foolish
hopes in his heart.

He had become a fast friend of Miss Whitford. Together they had
tramped through Central Park and motored up the Hudson in one of her
father's cars. They had explored each other's minds along with the
country and each had known the surprise and delight of discoveries, of
finding in the other a quality of freshness and candor.

Clay sensed in this young woman a spirit that had a way of sweeping up
on gay young wings to sudden joys stirred by the simplest causes. Her
outlook on life was as gallant as that of a fine-tempered schoolboy. A
gallop in the Park could whip the flag of happiness into her cheeks. A
wild flower nestling in a bed of moss could bring the quick light to
her eyes. Her responsiveness was a continual delight to him just as
her culture was his despair. Of books, pictures, and music she knew
much more than he.

The bus jerked down Fifth Avenue like a boat in heavy seas, pausing
here and there at the curb to take on a passenger. While it was
getting under way after one such stop, another downtown bus rolled past.

Clay came to a sudden alert attention. His eyes focused on a girl
sitting on a back seat. In the pretty, childish face he read a wistful
helplessness, a pathetic hint of misery that called for sympathy.

Arizona takes short cuts to its ends. Clay rose instantly, put his
foot on the railing, and leaped across to the top of the bus rolling
parallel with the one he was on. In another second he had dropped into
the seat beside the girl.

"Glad to meet you again, Miss Kitty," he said cheerfully. "How's the
big town been using you?"

The girl looked at him with a little gasp of surprise. "Mr. Lindsay!"
Sudden tears filmed her eyes. She forgot tha