just informed her of that fact. The young man smiled as though he
were being introduced to the building, but exhibited no interest.

"IS it?" he remarked. His tone seemed to show that had she said,
"That is a rabbit," he would have been equally gratified.

"Some day," he stated, with the same startling abruptness with
which he had made his first remark, "our war-ships will lift the
roofs off those sky-scrapers."

The remark struck me in the wrong place. It was unnecessary.
Already I resented the manner of the young man toward the lovely
lady. It seemed to me lacking in courtesy. He knew her, and yet
treated her with no deference, while I, a stranger, felt so
grateful to her for being what I knew one with such a face must be,
that I could have knelt at her feet. So I rather resented the
remark.

"If the war-ships you send over here," I said doubtfully, "aren't
more successful in lifting things than your yachts, you'd better
keep them at home and save coal!"

Seldom have I made so long a speech or so rude a speech, and as
soon as I had spoken, on account of the lovely lady, I was sorry.

But after a pause of half a second she laughed delightedly.

"I see," she cried, as though it were a sort of a game. "He means
Lipton! We can't lift the cup, we can't lift the roofs. Don't you
see, Stumps!" she urged. In spite of my rude remark, the young man