Was it _she_, then, who was responsible for----? It was no business of mine, of course; I had never met her in my life till that evening--but I began to be impatient to hear the rest. And at last she turned to me again: 'I hope you haven't forgotten that I was in the middle of a story. You haven't? And you would really like me to go on? Well, then--oh yes, when Pepper was told, he was naturally a little annoyed at first. I daresay he considered he ought to have been consulted previously. But, as soon as he had seen the lady, he withdrew all opposition--which his master declared was a tremendous load off his mind, for Pepper was rather a difficult dog, and slow as a rule to take strangers into his affections, a little snappy and surly, and very easily hurt or offended. Don't you know dogs who are sensitive like that? _I_ do, and I'm always so sorry for them--they feel little things so much, and one never can find out what's the matter, and have it out with them! Sometimes it's shyness; once I had a dog who was quite painfully shy--self-consciousness it was really, I suppose, for he always fancied everybody was looking at him, and often when people were calling he would come and hide his face in the folds of my dress till they had gone--it was too ridiculous! But about Pepper. He was devoted to his new mistress from the very first. I am not sure that she was quite so struck with him, for he was not at all a lady's dog, and his manners had been very much neglected. Still, she came quite to like him in time; and when they were married, Pepper went with them for the honeymoon.' '_When they were married!_' I glanced at the card which lay half-hidden by her plate. Surely _Miss_ So-and-so was written on it?--yes, it was certainly 'Miss.' It was odd that such a circumstance should have increased my enjoyment of the story, perhaps--but it undoubtedly did.