Her number flashed in red letters on the electric
blackboard.

She rose and carried her books to the seat number
assigned her near the center of the southern division
of the room on the extreme left beside the bookcases
containing the dictionaries of all languages.

Her seat was on the aisle which skirted the
shelves. She found the full description of the flower
in which she was interested, made her notes and
closed the volume with a lazy movement of her slender,
graceful hand.

She lifted her eyes and they rested on a
remarkable-looking young man about her own age who
stood gazing in an embarrassed, helpless sort of way at
the row of ponderous volumes marked "The Century
Dictionary."

He was evidently a newcomer. By his embarrassment
she could easily tell that it was the first time he had
ever ventured into this room.

He looked at the books, apparently puzzled by their
number. He raised his hand and ran his fingers
nervously through the short, thick, red hair which
covered his well-shaped head.