the other side," John said. But Marjory,
who had herself taken a long walk that afternoon, thought the whole
thing unutterably stupid: her eyelids would drop, her neck felt
double-jointed and would not stay erect. Fortunately, their seats
were far back, not very brilliantly lighted, and Marjory's had the
advantage of being next a pillar. John, however, considered this fact
unfortunate, for he could not obtain a good view of the remarkable
figures with which the old gentleman was illustrating his lecture,
talking in spasmodic jerks as he drew, and when John saw a dear and
scientific friend on a front seat, with a vacant place beside him, he
could not resist the temptation to take it. He looked at Marjory: she
was half asleep, but still contending bravely for the other half. He
surveyed their immediate neighbors--three strong-minded-looking women
just behind them; a fatherly-looking old gentleman in the seat next
his own; a pillar protecting Marjory on the other side, and two highly
respectable-looking young men in the row of seats before them, who
appeared to be listening intently and occasionally taking notes;
at least, one of them was, and he submitted his note-book to the
criticism of the other, who smiled approvingly. The seats immediately
in front of his own and Marjory's were vacant.

"Would you mind, Peggy," said John, deprecatingly, "if I left you for
a few minutes? I can't half see what he is drawing, and there is a
vacant front seat. I'll only stay five minutes."

"Certainly, dear," said Marjory with sleepy amiability: "stay up
there till he has finished, and then come back for me. I am not at all
afraid."

"Oh no: I will not do that," answered John, considerately, "but I do
want to go for a few minutes." So away he went, and, once up there,
he of course "took no note of time," and Marjory was left to her own
devices. These were few and simple, but small causes sometimes produce
great effects. She had on those gloves, of course.

She never could recall that part of the evening very distinctly. A
confused recollection that she found the pillar very comfortable for a
while; that finally the ridges in it hurt her cheek; that she had one
or two lucid intervals between her naps, in one of which she concluded
that it would be better to take those gloves off for fear of marking
her face; and that while she was doing so she caught a sentence or
two of the lecture--something like this: "This one essential point of