something to say to her. "I wonder what Mildred told him," she
thought. "Probably she said, 'Dearest, there's one more girl
you've got to help me out with. You wouldn't like her much, but
she dances well enough and she's having a rotten time. Nobody
ever goes near her any more.'"

When the music stopped, Russell added his applause to the
hand-clapping that encouraged the uproarious instruments to
continue, and as they renewed the tumult, he said heartily,
"That's splendid!"

Alice gave him a glance, necessarily at short range, and found
his eyes kindly and pleased. Here was a friendly soul, it
appeared, who probably "liked everybody." No doubt he had
applauded for an "encore" when he danced with Ella Dowling, gave
Ella the same genial look, and said, "That's splendid!"

When the "encore" was over, Alice spoke to him for the first
time.

"Mildred will be looking for you," she said. "I think you'd
better take me back to where you found me."

He looked surprised. "Oh, if you----"

"I'm sure Mildred will be needing you," Alice said, and as she
took his arm and they walked toward Mrs. Dresser, she thought it
might be just possible to make a further use of the loan. "Oh, I
wonder if you----" she began.