“She is a hundred fold more lovely than I thought her this afternoon,” he said, under his breath. “I shall love that girl, if I allow myself to see much of her. And why not? I believe I will set myself regularly at work to win her; thus I shall not only secure a charming little wife, but accomplish my revenge, also, for the indignity that I have received from _his_ hands.” He watched Gladys, while she was presented to the hostess, and was charmed with the ease and grace of her manners. “She belongs, evidently, to a good family; she has been well reared,” he continued, “even my critical and aristocratic mamma could not fail to be satisfied with her as a daughter, although she is not particularly partial to Northern women. She reminds me of some one, too. I wonder who it can be? There is something strangely familiar in the proud way that she carries herself.” He moved toward another portion of the room, as he saw Gladys and her friends pass on, and, seeking Mrs. Vanderwater, who, by the way, was the mother of Albert Vanderwater, Everet Mapleson’s chum and especial friend at Yale, he asked: “Do you know the party of people who have just entered—that gentleman with three ladies?” “Oh, yes; they are the Lorings. Mr. Loring is a wealthy Wall street broker. His wife is a daughter of the late Colonel Elwell, and their daughter, Miss Addie, is a charming young lady, not to mention the fact that she is the only child and the heiress to a great deal of money.” “Introduce me, will you?” asked Everet, eagerly. “To be sure I will; but is it the money or the beauty that attracts you most?” queried the lady, roguishly. “I will tell you later,” retorted the young man, in the same vein; “but you did not say who that young lady is who accompanies them,” he concluded, as if his attention had but just been drawn toward her. “No, I do not know myself; she is a stranger, but a very lovely one, is she not? Really, I do not believe there is another lady in the room so beautiful. Come, I have a curiosity to know who she is myself, and we will beg Mrs. Loring for an introduction.” Thus Everet Mapleson managed to secure a formal introduction to the Lorings and Gladys through one of the leaders of New York society. He knew that there could be no exceptions taken to any one whom Mrs. Vanderwater vouched for, and therefore the young girl would have no excuse for avoiding him on the score of not having been properly presented to him. But she received him very graciously, even referring in a laughing way to their previous meeting earlier in the day, thus showing him she would not have been the least bit prudish about recognizing him, even without Mrs. Vanderwater’s reassuring presence. He soon after searched out his friend Al, whom he presented to Miss Loring, and then left him to be entertained by her while he devoted himself exclusively to Gladys.