“Now follow me,” he commanded, dexterously wriggling away from the arm that sought his. He meant to lead the Millstone to the corner of the room farthest away from the exit, and there, among the palms surrounding the orchestra, “wander” her like a cat in a strange wood. “If you will be so good as to stand here,” he suggested, when they had fought their way to the other end of the room, “I’ll look for Fields. It may take me some time, there’s such a crowd.” He almost softened toward her for an instant, he was so elated at the thought of leaving her there forever in the exotic bushes,--like Ruth “in tears amid the alien corn.” Then he returned her red fan, and once more became part of the crowd. He loved the crowd now as he had hated it before; it was a friendly, favouring, protecting crowd,--a crowd that rendered his movements invisible, a crowd through which large, opacous bodies in black satin could attain no velocity. Beverly made a conscientious search for Billy. He struggled around the theatre, inspected the piazza and the tent and the front rooms, and finally went upstairs to the library. But Billy was chatting in none of the little alcove nooks, made cosey for the occasion with a prodigal display of Turkish rugs, and Beverly descended the stairs to the exit with a light heart. The Millstone, dishevelled, apoplectic, and breathing hard, was waiting for him at the door. “I grew faint and sought air,” she explained. “Do you know what to do when a lady faints?” she went on, fanning nervously. “Oh, yes,” said Beverly, grimly; “I think I know what I should do if you fainted.” “You’re giving me a very happy day,” she murmured. “It is a memorable one for me,” he answered savagely. They went out and on toward Claverly. If every man Beverly knew in college had arranged to meet him on Holyoke Street at that hour, Beverly would not have had to take off his hat many more times than he did. He bowed gravely, and had to hang on to himself to keep from calling out as every new group of wondering faces approached:-- “This woman doesn’t belong to me; I never saw her before, and I hate her.”