Harley could talk well, all the better because he talked so rarely of himself, and even now it was of himself only by indirection, because he spoke chiefly of men whom he had known and deeds that he had witnessed. Watching the girl closely with that side-look, he did not see the twinkle reappear in her eye; instead she sat demure and silent, and he judged that he had taken her beyond her depth. At last he stopped, and she said, in a subdued tone: "Did I not tell you, Uncle James, that imagination was the great quality the correspondents need?" Harley flushed, but he could not keep from joining Mr. Grayson in his laugh. The candidate, besides laughing, glanced affectionately at the girl. It was evident that his niece was a favorite with Jimmy Grayson. "I shall ask Miss Morgan to tell me about Idaho," said Harley. "It's quite wild, you know," she said, gravely; "and all the people need taming. But it would be a great task." When they went back to the drawing-room Harley and the girl were behind the others, and he lingered a moment beside her. "Miss Morgan," he said, "I want to ask your pardon again. You know it was in the dark, and mine was an honest mistake." "I will if you will tell me one thing." "What is it?" "Have you really got a camera with you?" "If I had I should take a picture of you and not of Mr. Grayson." Harley remained awhile longer, and Miss Morgan's treatment remained familiar and somewhat disconcerting, rather like the manner of an elder sister to her young brother than of a girl to a man whom she had known only two or three hours. When he rose to leave, she again offered him her hand with perfect coolness. Harley, in a perfunctory manner, expressed his regret that he was not likely to see her again, as he was to leave the next day with Mr. Grayson. The provoking twinkle appeared again in the corner of her eyes. "I don't intend that you shall forget me, Mr. Harley," she said, "because you _are_ to see me again. When you come to Washington in search of news, I shall be there as the second lady of the land--Aunt Anna will be first." "Oh, of course, I forgot that," said Harley, but he was not sure that she had Washington in mind, remembering Mrs. Grayson's assertion that she did not always mean what she said nor say what she meant. The night was quite dark, and when he had gone a few yards Harley stopped and looked back at the house. He felt a distinct sense of relief, because he was gone from the presence of the mountain girl who was not of his kind, and whom he did not know how to take; being a man, he could not retort upon her in her own fashion, and she was able to make him feel cheap.