e rough clay slapped on them, he had never
allowed her to see the figure.

"It's no use asking," he said. "You're no master at this art. The
workman who shows unfinished stuff to anybody but a master is a fool."

"Well, when, then?" asked Vi, impatiently, after weeks had lengthened to
months.

"Almost any day now," said Lewis; but before 'any day' came around,
something happened that materially delayed the satisfaction of Vi's
curiosity.

Lady Derl had frequently drafted Lewis into dinners that she thought
would be stupid for her without him. As a result, the inevitable in
London happened. It became a habit to invite Lewis when Lady Derl was
coming. He never took her in,--her rank and position made that
impossible,--but he was there, somewhere at the lower end of the table,
where she could watch him when she felt bored and occasionally read in
the astonished faces of his neighbors the devastation he had caused by
some remark; for Lewis, like his father, had a way of saying things. The
difference was that Leighton's _mots_ were natural and malicious, while
Lewis's were only natural. On the whole, Lewis created the greater
sensation.

The night after Lewis had said "Almost any day now" to Vi, he found
himself at a semi-diplomatic dinner next to a young person who, like
himself, seemed to find the affair a bit heavy.

"What did they invite you for?" asked Lewis.

"They couldn't help it," replied the young person, stifling a yawn. "I'm
the wife of the charge of the Brazilian legation. And you?"

"Oh, I'm here just to take Lady Derl home."

The young person's eyes showed a gleam of interest as they glanced up
the table to where Lady Derl sat and reigned an easy queen in that
assembly.

"Oh," she said, "are you? Why you?"

"Well," said Lewis, "I suppose it's because I'm the only man in town
that always remembers Lady Derl's beauty and gray hair at the same
time."

The young person smiled.

"I believe I've heard of you. Leighton is your name, isn't it?"

"It's only five minutes since I was introduced," said Lewis, smiling,
"and you made me say it over three times."

"Ah, yes," said the lady, unperturbed, "but five minutes is a long
time--sometimes. Is Leighton a common name?"

"Not as common as some," said Lewis. "Why?"

"Nothing, only I know some Leightons in Brazil."

Lady Derl saw Lewis start, and quickly lay down his fork. She watched in
vain through the rest of that dinner for a conversational sens