e even here.

That consciousness of being alone with a young man, which had come over
Adelle on her entrance, developed gradually into a pleasant sense of
intimacy with Archie. Miss Baxter did not come back to make the tea, as
she usually did at this hour. Adelle was acutely aware that the young
man had counted on getting this tea and really needed the nourishment.
She wanted to give him food, to be kind to him. At last she ventured to
suggest,--"Don't you know some place around here where we could get
something to eat? I guess Miss Baxter isn't coming back this afternoon."

Archie instantly rose to the suggestion: he knew all the restaurants
within the radius of two miles. And so, escorted by the young man,
Adelle was soon entering a discreet small cafe, where, after infinite
conversation with the proprietor, a tepid concoction was served with
some excellent small cakes. Adelle then had one of the purest joys of
her existence in watching the gusto with which the young Californian
dispatched his tea and cakes even to the last crumbs of the _brioche_.
She wanted to ask him to dine with her somewhere, but did not dare. In
time they went back to the studio, which was now dark and still
deserted, and after puttering for another half-hour Adelle departed in
her car for the Villa Ponitowski. Nothing more momentous than what has
been related happened, but both felt profoundly that something had
happened. Archie, less daring or more skillful than his predecessor, did
not press his advantage,--did not even ask to accompany the girl
home,--and Adelle was left with the happy illusion of a mysterious human
interest.

XXII

At last Adelle had a young man! He was not much of a young man in the
eyes of Miss Comstock or Irene Paul, perhaps, but Adelle did not care
for that. Incipient love awoke in the girl all her latent power of
guile. This time she did not "give herself away" to "Pussy" nor to her
companions, knowing instinctively that her toy would be taken away from
her if it was discovered. For two months she managed almost daily
meetings with Archie Davis without arousing the suspicion of any one,
except possibly Miss Baxter, who did not consider the matter seriously.
When late in May Miss Comstock took it into her head to motor to Italy
for a trip to the Lakes and Venice, Adelle tried her best to escape, but
failed. She departed sulkily, and managed to scrawl a letter and post it
privately almost every day. Each mile