"Yes," answered Miss Earle, sweetly, "we will have the coffee now, if
you please. You will have a cup with me, will you not, Mr. Morris?"

"Yes, I will, if it is not too much trouble."

"Oh, it is no trouble to me," said, the young lady; "some trouble to the
steward, but I believe even for him that it is not a trouble that cannot
be recompensed."

Morris sipped his coffee in silence. Every now and then Miss Earle stole
a quiet look at him, and apparently was waiting for him to again resume
the conversation. This he did not seem in a hurry to do. At last she
said--

"Mr. Morris, suppose we were on shipboard and that we had become
acquainted without the friendly intervention of an introducer,
and suppose, if such a supposition is at all within the bounds of
probability, that you wanted to find out something about me, how would
you go about it?"

"How would I go about it?"

"Yes. How?"

"I would go about it in what would be the worst possible way. I would
frankly ask you, and you would as frankly snub me."

"Suppose, then, while declining to tell you anything about myself I were
to refer you to somebody who would give you the information you desire,