Rarely did Elmer seem more deft than Jim Lefferts. But now he was feeling his command over women—certain sorts of women. Silent, yearning at Juanita, commanding her with hot eyes, he sank on the temporarily Oriental couch, touched her pale hand with his broad finger-tips, and murmured, “Why, you poor kid, you look so tired!” “I am and— You hadn’t ought to of come here this afternoon. Nell’s aunt threw a conniption fit the last time you were here.” “Hurray for aunty! But _you_’re glad to see me?” She would not answer. “Aren’t you?” Bold eyes on hers that turned uneasily away, looked back, and sought the safety of the blank wall. “Aren’t you?” She would not answer. “Juanita! And I’ve longed for you something fierce, ever since I saw you!” His fingers touched her throat, but softly. “Aren’t you a _little_ glad?” As she turned her head, for a second she looked at him with embarrassed confession. She sharply whispered, “No—don’t!” as he caught her hand, but she moved nearer to him, leaned against his shoulder. “You’re so big and strong,” she sighed. “But, golly, you don’t know how I need you! The president, old Quarles—quarrels is right, by golly, ha, ha, ha!—’member I was telling you about him?—he’s laying for me because he thinks it was me and Jim that let the bats loose in chapel. And I get so sick of that gosh-awful Weekly Bible Study—all about these holy old gazebos. And then I think about you, and gosh, if you were just sitting on the other side of the stove from me in my room there, with your cute lil red slippers cocked up on the nickel rail—gee, how happy I’d be! You don’t think I’m just a bonehead, do you?” Jim and Nellie were at the stage now of nudging each other and bawling, “Hey, quit, will yuh!” as they stood over the coffee. “Say, you girls change your shirts and come on out and we’ll blow you to dinner, and maybe we’ll dance a little,” proclaimed Jim. “We can’t,” said Nellie. “Aunty’s sore as a pup because we was up late at a dance night before last. We got to stay home, and you boys got to beat it before she comes in.” “Aw, come _on_!” “No, we _can’t_!” “Yuh, fat chance you girls staying home and knitting! You got some fellows coming in and you want to get rid of us, that’s what’s the trouble.” “It is not, Mr. James Lefferts, and it wouldn’t be any of your business if it was!” While Jim and Nellie squabbled, Elmer slipped his hand about Juanita’s shoulder, slowly pressed her against him. He believed with terrible conviction that she was beautiful, that she was glorious, that she was life. There was heaven in the softness of her curving shoulder, and her pale flesh was living silk. “Come on in the other room,” he pleaded. “Oh—no—not now.” He gripped her arm. “Well—don’t come in for a minute,” she fluttered. Aloud, to the others, “I’m going to do my hair. Looks just _ter_-ble!”