woman rarely learned in one great mystery. Is there
no reward for merit?"

She scorned reply to such a screed, but slid down from her perch with
the remark that she had "et hearty." A man who had eaten near them in
a restaurant had used the expression, and they had both promptly
adopted it.

He rose, went to her side, and leaned over, and inhaled the perfume of
her hair.

She looked up mischievously. "You are a big black animal!"

As already remarked, these two were very foolish.

That same evening, when Grant Harlson reached his office, he found a
note awaiting him. It was a pretty, perfumed thing, and he knew the
handwriting upon it well. He had not seen the writer for three months.
He had almost forgotten her existence, yet she had been one with whom
his life had been, upon a time, closely associated. He opened the
envelope and read the note:

MY DEAR GRANT: Yon know I am philosophical--for a woman--and that I
have never been exacting. I have formed habits, though, and have
certain foolish ways. One of these ways was to be much with Grant
Harlson, not very long ago. I lost him, somehow, but still have a
curiosity to see his face again, to note if it has changed. I have
something to say to him, too. Please call upon me to-night. ADA.

The effect of the note upon the man was not altogether pleasant. He
felt a certain guiltiness at his own indifference. This clever woman
of the social world he knew was not to be trifled with by one unarmored
or irresolute. He had hoped she would forget him, that his own
indifference would breed the same feeling upon her part, and now he
knew he was mistaken, as men have been mistaken before. There was an
interview to be faced, and one promising interesting features. He
started on the mission with a grimace.

CHAPTER XXIII.

JUST A PANG.

Mrs. Gorse was at home, the servant said, and Harlson found her
awaiting him in a room which was worth a visit, so luxurious were its
appointments and so delicate its colorings and its perfumes. A woman
of admirable taste was Mrs. Gorse, and one who knew how to produce
dramatic effect. But dramatic effects as between her and Grant Harlson
were things of the past. People sometimes know each other so well that
the introduction of anything but reality is absurd. Mrs. Gorse
attempted nothing as Harlson entered. She was not posed. She was
standing, and met him at the door smilingly.

"How do you do, Grant?"