ening door behind him
there came to his nostrils the fairy-spice of the arbutus-scent. He
turned quickly, and saw her almost at his shoulder, the girl of the
lustrous face. Behind her was Festus Willard.

"Ah, there you are, Surtaine," he said. "I've been looking for you to
present you to Miss Elliot. Esme, this is Mr. Harrington Surtaine."

She neither bowed nor moved in acknowledgment of Hal's greeting, but
looked at him with still, questioning eyes. The springtide hue of the
wild flower at her breast was matched in her cheek. Her head was held
high, bringing out the pure and lovely line of chin and throat. To Hal
it seemed that he had never seen anything so beautiful and desirable.

"Is it a bet?" Festus Willard's quiet voice was full of amusement. "Have
you laid a wager as to which will keep silent longest?"

At this, Hal recovered himself, though stumblingly.

"'Fain would I speak,'" he paraphrased, "'but that I fear to--to--to--'"

"Stutter," suggested Willard, with solicitous helpfulness. The girl
broke into a little trill of mirth, too liquid for laughter; being
rather the sound of a brooklet chuckling musically over its private
delectations.

"If I could have a dance with you," suggested Hal, "I'm sure it would
help my aphasia."

"I'm afraid," she began dubiously, "that--No; here's one just before
supper. If you haven't that--"

"No: I haven't," said Hal hastily. "It's awfully good of you--and lucky
for me."

"I'll be with Mrs. Willard," said the girl, nodding him a cheerful
farewell.

Just what or who his partners for the next few dances were, Hal could
not by any effort recall the next day. He was conscious, on the floor,
only of an occasional glimpse of her, a fugitive savor of the wildwood
fragrance, and then she had disappeared.

Later, as he returned from a talk with Festus Willard outside, he became
aware of the challenge of deep-hued, velvety eyes, regarding him with a
somewhat petulant expression, and recognized his acquaintance of the
motor car and the railroad terminal.

"You'd forgotten me," accused Miss Kathleen Pierce, pouting, as he came
to greet her.

Hal's disclaimer had sufficient diplomatic warmth to banish her
displeasure. She introduced to him as Dr. Merritt a striking-looking,
gray-haired young man, who had come up at the same time with an
anticipatory expression. This promptly vanished when she said
offhandedly to him:

"You've had three dances with me already, Hugh. I