"--'to all my simple wants?' That's me, too."

"But you can't be 'my Chinese servant, a factotum extraordinary?'"

"No, you have already met Li Ho."

"There?" queried the professor, gesturing weakly.

"Yes."

Spence pulled himself together. "There must be a home, though," he
asserted firmly, "'Humble but picturesque'--"

"Well," admitted the voice from the green cloak, "it is rather
picturesque. And it is certainly humble."

Suddenly she laughed. It was a very young laugh. The professor felt
relieved. She was a girl, then, not a woman.

"Isn't father too' amusing?" she asked pleasantly.

"Quite too much so," agreed the professor. He was very cold. "I beg
your pardon," he added stiffly, remembering his manners.

"Oh, I don't mind!" The girl assured him. "Father is a dreadful old
fraud. I have no illusions. But perhaps it isn't so bad after all.
He really is quite an authority on the West Coast Indians,--if that
is what you wish to consult him about."

Professor Spence was in a quandary. But perfect frankness seemed