By an odd chance, the quaint little vehicle was standing still, directly in front of the Choristers'. His reconciled friend was out of it, standing by, bending well over the car, peering into it. Nevertheless, by some sixth sense, she saw him at once and, straightening up with a pleased smile, she waved and called:-- "Oh, Mr. Garrott!--how glad I am to see you! Do you know how to crank?" He approached with the gallantest air, the most civil speeches. All the same, as he bent to his hard labor--for the Fordette proved dangerously stiff in the crank--and politely sought to explain how to avoid killing the engine for the future, he was conscious of a certain sense of rebellion.... Excellent, laudable, justifying things, beauty and charm; but the plain fact was that he, Charles, was simply not in the market for them at present, that was all. The friendship, indeed, was well cemented now; the talk characterized with a growing confidence. "Oh, how strong you are!" said Angela admiringly, as he finally got the old engine to spinning. "I do wish I could do it like that! Now you must let me pay you for your trouble!--won't you? I'm just driving around, really, so don't think--" "Oh, thank you, but I go in here. Business hours, you know! Well! Now you're--" "Oh, is this where you teach every afternoon?" asked Angela, with interest, gazing past him at the handsome stone "front" of the Choristers'. "Oh, yes, Miss Chorister.... How long does the lesson last?" "Oh, an hour--usually. But, of course," added the young man, his eye wavering slightly, "that depends somewhat--on circumstances--" "You don't get out till about half-past four, then? I do _wish_ you weren't so awfully busy! Mr. Garrott, have you been away again? I don't seem to have seen you at all for a good many days now." "Yes! That's it!--been away again! I go away all the time--practically. And when I'm here, why, it's nothing but work, work, work, from morning to night, for me! It's a wonder to me I have a friend left, I have to be so horribly unsociable--_always_. But," continued Charles, "I'm glad I happened by in time to be of some help. By the by, hadn't you better get in and try her out? I don't like to rush on to my lesson till I know you're all right." "Yes, I suppose I had. I oughtn't to stop you now." His suggestion, indeed, had a striking reasonableness. Fortunately, the try-out proved quite successful, after only a little pushing and kicking. But the Fordette snorted from before the Choristers' very slowly, Angela looking back over her shoulder, smiling at him, a pretty and appealing look on her entirely feminine face. Charles went up to his daily hour with Miss Grace, in a brown study.