remember which. He took George to his hut and gave him things to
shoot, and all that, and now he is in New York with a letter of
introduction. It's just like George. He may be a most
impossible sort of man, but, as I said to Mr. Porter, the people
I've asked can't complain, because I don't know anything more
about him than they do. He called to-day when I was out and left
his card and George's letter of introduction, and as a man had
failed me for to-night, I just thought I would kill two birds
with one stone, and ask him to fill his place, and he's here.
And, oh, yes,'' Mrs. Porter added, ``I'm going to put him next to
you, do you mind?''

``Unless he wears leather leggings and long spurs I shall mind
very much,'' said Miss Langham.

``Well, that's very nice of you,'' purred Mrs. Porter, as she
moved away. ``He may not be so bad, after all; and I'll put
Reginald King on your other side, shall I?'' she asked, pausing
and glancing back.

The look on Miss Langham's face, which had been one of amusement,
changed consciously, and she smiled with polite acquiescence.

``As you please, Mrs. Porter,'' she answered. She raised her
eyebrows slightly. ``I am, as the politicians say, `in the hands
of my friends.' ''

``Entirely too much in the hands of my friends,'' she repeated,
as she turned away. This was the twelfth time during that same
winter that she and Mr. King had been placed next to one another