He was gone but a moment or two; but in that time Dolly had smoothed her hair, retied her hat, whisked a nicer pair of gloves out of her pocket, and taken a rapid survey of herself in a tiny glass concealed from other eyes in the recesses of her bag. She had just time to close and cast the aforesaid bag recklessly upon the floor as her knight came up, bearing a cup of tea and a block of cake, saying in the pleasantly protecting way all women like,-- "Dr. Harris prescribes refreshment after the operation, and this is the best he can find. Your aged admirer was at the counter, eating against time and defying apoplexy," he added with a laugh, as Dolly gratefully sipped the tea, which, by the way, was as weak as that made at the famous Boston tea-party, when, as every one knows, water was liberally used. "You saw him, then, when he was plaguing me?" "I did, and longed to throw him out of the window." "Thanks. Did you recognize me before you spoke?" "Of course I did, and wanted to approach, but didn't dare till the cinder gave me an excuse." "The idea of being afraid of _me_!" "How could I help being afraid, when you told me Miss Dolly was 'awful'?" asked John, twinkling with fun, as he sat on the arm of a seat sociably eating a sandwich, which under other circumstances would have struck him as being a remarkable combination of sawdust and sole-leather. Before Dolly could reply except by a guilty blush, a bell rang, and John hurried away with the empty cup. A moment or two later the stout gentleman appeared, wiping his mouth, evidently feeling in a better humor, and ready to make up with his pretty neighbor. Smiling blandly, he was about to remove the valise, when Miss Dolly laid her hand upon it, saying with great dignity, "This seat is engaged, sir. There are plenty of others now, and I wish this for my friend." Here John, who was just behind, seeing his prize in danger, gave a gentle shove to several intervening fellow-beings, who in turn propelled the "stout party" past the disputed place, which the young man took with an air of entire satisfaction, and a hearty "Thank you!" which told Dolly he had overheard her little speech. She colored beautifully, but said with grateful frankness,-- "It wasn't a fib: a friend in need is a friend indeed, and in return for the cinder I'm glad to give you a seat." "Blessed be the cinder, then!" murmured John, feeling at peace with all mankind. Then taking advantage of the propitious moment, he added in a penitential tone,-- "I want to apologize for my stupidity and unintentional rudeness yesterday." "About what?" asked Dolly, innocently, though her eyes began to sparkle with amusement. "Why, taking it into my head that Miss Hill must be oldish, and going on in that absurd way about spinsters."