to her intense chagrin she felt herself blushing. To make matters
worse, he blushed too, and over his intelligent face flitted just the
shadow of a smile.

This was too much! Marjory fanned herself vigorously, and hazarded an
original observation in a constrained voice. "Don't you think it is
very warm here?" she said.

"Very!" replied the student of nature. "Shall we walk in the hall for
a few minutes?" and he offered her his arm. She rested the tips of
her fingers on his sleeve, and they proceeded to walk up and down the
hall, she being saved only by her escort from collision with various
other couples similarly employed. This interesting exercise lasted for
some minutes, varied by attempts at conversation which were about as
natural as spasms. Marjory took a desperate resolution. This absurd
state of things should not last much longer, if she could help it. "I
never could act as if nothing was the matter when something was," she
began, "and I can't help it if this is not polite; but I think, from
what Mrs. Grove said about you, that you will tell me the truth if I
ask you something. Will you?" and she looked up once more.

"Certainly I will," he answered gravely, meeting her glance with
steady, honest eyes, and somehow, short as their acquaintance had
been, she believed him.

She had meant to ask him deliberately if he or his companion, or both,
had stolen her gloves and decorated her face, but she felt unable to
do that with those eyes on hers; so she changed her tactics, and said,
rather meekly, considering what her former feelings had been: "Will
you please tell me exactly what happened the evening that man lectured
about the gorilla, and you sat nearly in front of my brother and me?"

"That was your brother, then?" he said quickly, and then stopped,
looking a little foolish.

"Yes," she answered, with a surprised glance at his face; "but you
said you would answer."

"I beg your pardon," he replied. "I will, of course, and I know you
will believe me. After your brother left you, you leaned your head
against the pillar, and then, as if the grooving hurt your face, you
put your hand between; and then--I must apologize for my apparent
impoliteness, but I promised to tell the truth;" and he smiled a
little--"then you seemed to fall fast asleep. A mosquito lit on your
nose, and woke you. When you raised your head, your cheek was quite
black from your glove; you rubbed your nose and made that black too;
then yo