ired Montague; and Betty replied promptly, "I
do not!"

"Her daddy and Betty's granddaddy are always at swords' points," put in
Major Venable.

"I have nothing to do with my granddaddy's quarrels," said the young
lady. "I have troubles enough of my own."

"What is the matter with Miss Hegan?" asked Montague, laughing.

"She's an idea she's too good for the world she lives in," said Betty.
"When you're with her, you feel as you will before the judgment throne."

"Undoubtedly a disturbing feeling," put in the Major.

"She never hands you anything but you find a pin hidden in it," went on
the girl. "All her remarks are meant to be read backward, and my life
is too short to straighten out their kinks. I like a person to say what
they mean in plain English, and then I can either like them or not."

"Mostly not," said the Major, grimly; and added, "Anyway, she's
beautiful."

"Perhaps," said the other. "So is the Jungfrau; but I prefer something
more comfortable."

"What's Chappie de Peyster beauing her around for?" asked Mrs. Venable.
"Is he a candidate?"

"Maybe his debts are troubling him again," said Mistress Betty. "He
must be in a desperate plight.--Did you hear how Jack Audubon proposed
to her?"

"Did Jack propose?" exclaimed the Major.

"Of course he did," said the girl. "His brother told me." Then, for
Montague's benefit, she explained, "Jack Audubon is the Major's nephew,
and he's a bookworm, and spends all his time collecting scarabs."

"What did he say to her?" asked the Major, highly amused.

"Why," said Betty, "he told her he knew she didn't love him; but also
she knew that he didn't care anything about her money, and she might
like to marry him so that other men would let her alone."

"Gad!" cried the old gentleman, slapping his knee. "A masterpiece!"

"Does she have so many suitors?" asked Montague; and the Major replied,
"My dear boy--she'll have a hundred million dollars some day!"

At this point Oliver put in appearance, and Betty got up and went for a
stroll with him; then Montague asked for light upon Miss Hegan's remark.

"What she said is perfectly true," replied the Major; "only it riled
Betty. There's many a gallant dame cruising the social seas who has
stowed her old relatives out of sight in the hold."

"What's the matter with old Simpkins?" asked the other.

"Just a queer boy," was the reply. "He has a big pile, and his one joy
in life is the divine Yvette. It is really he wh