the picture, which caused even these men and women, who had been
here and there and seen many things, to draw in their breath
sharply. Altogether the effect manifestly made an impression.

Such an environment had its influence upon the company. It went
far toward making the dinner a success. From far in the distance
came the softened strains of Hungarian music, and never had the
little band played the "Valse Amoureuse" and the "Valse Bleue"
with the spirit it put into them that night. Yet the soft clamor
in the dining-room insistently ignored the emotion of the music.
Monty, bored as he was between the two most important dowagers at
the feast, wondered dimly what invisible part it played in making
things go. He had a vagrant fancy that without it there would have
been no zest for talk, no noisy competition to overcome, no
hurdles to leap. As it was, the talk certainly went well, and Mrs.
Dan inspected the result of her work from time to time with
smiling satisfaction. From across the table she heard Colonel
Drew's voice,--"Brewster evidently objects to a long siege. He is
planning to carry us by assault"

Mrs. Dan turned to "Subway" Smith, who was at her right--the
latest addition to her menagerie. "What is this friend of yours?"
she asked. "I have never seen such complex simplicity. This new
plaything has no real charm for him. He is breaking it to find out
what it is made of. And something will happen when he discovers
the sawdust."

"Oh, don't worry about him," said "Subway," easily; "Monty's at
least a good sportsman. He won't complain, whatever happens. He'll
accept the reckoning and pay the piper."