Dolly was enjoying herself amazingly, dancing chiefly, however, with her dearest girl friend for the time being, since none of the boys danced well enough to please either of them. And besides, boys rather bored Dolly, to whom dancing, as yet, was merely a particularly delightful form of exercise, and who had no precocious tendencies to coquetry. She deigned to dance once with Mark, after which he did his duty by trotting out a succession of calm and self-possessed little girls, who were as unchildlike as if they had been out for a season or two. Then he thought he might reward himself by going to look for Mabel, whom he found in one of the lower rooms endeavouring to amuse the smaller and non-dancing members of the company. She was standing under the centre lamp, flushed and laughing, with two or three children clinging to her dress, and met his amused and admiring eyes with a little gesture of comic despair. 'We've played all the games that were ever invented,' she said; 'and now some of them are getting rough and the rest cross, and there's half an hour before supper, and I don't in the least know what to do with them till then.' 'Shall I see what _I_ can do with them?' said Mark rather rashly. 'Oh, if you would it would be so kind of you. I'm afraid you don't know what you are exposing yourself to.' Mark, not being devoted to children, felt more than a little dubious himself; but he wanted to be associated with her in something, and volunteered manfully. 'Look here,' he began, as they all stood about staring at him, 'Miss Langton's a little tired. I--I am going to play with you a little now. What shall we have, eh? Blind man's buff?' But they had had that, and presently one small boy, bolder than the rest, said, 'Play at being Jumbo'--a proposal which seemed generally popular. 'Then may I leave you here?' said Mabel. 'I must go and speak to mother about something. Don't let them be too tiresome.'