"Prod Mr. Winfield where my finger is pointing. He is extraordinarily
muscular."

"I say, really!" protested Kirk. He was a modest young man, and this
exploration of his more intimate anatomy by the finger-tips of the girl
he loved was not to be contemplated.

"Just as you please," said Mrs. Porter. "If I were a man of your
physique, I should be proud of it."

"Wouldn't you like to go up and see George?" asked Kirk. It was hard on
George, but it was imperative that this woman be removed somehow.

"Very well. I have brought him a little book to read, which will do him
good. It is called 'Elementary Rules for the Preservation of the
Body'."

"He has learned one of them, all right, since yesterday," said Kirk.
"Not to walk about in front of automobiles."

"The rules I refer to are mainly concerned with diet and wholesome
exercise," explained Mrs. Porter. "Careful attention to them may yet
save him. His case is not hopeless. Ruth, let Mr. Winfield show you his
pictures. They are poor in many respects, but not entirely without
merit."

Ruth, meanwhile, had been sitting on the couch, listening to the
conversation without really hearing it. She was in a dreamy, contented
mood. She found herself curiously soothed by the atmosphere of the