“N—no, but he—girls, I’ll tell you just what I did. I said, ‘By the way, Mr. Goldie, just give me five dollars more, will you? Father can make it right next time he comes in.’ And, if you will credit the fact, he actually said he couldn’t do it. A man with whom I had danced the german the evening before!” “I never believed Ned Goldie would be so stingy,” said the girl with the dimple in her chin. “What excuse did he make?” “Said it was against the rules of the bank, but he would be delighted to _lend_ me the extra five dollars. Did you ever hear of such impertinence in your life? As soon as my father comes home, I shall tell him that he must transfer his account to another bank, for after this I feel that Mr. Goldie is not a person to be trusted with money!” “Dear, dear,” said the president, gravely, “that is very bad. Don’t mention it outside of the club, girls; for if the bank directors found that he was being rude to the daughter of one of their customers he would lose his position at once. And there may be some apology or explanation he can make to your father, too, dear; though I confess I don’t see what it can be. Well, girls, I’m afraid we must adjourn, and I must say frankly that I am pleased with the work we have done to-day. The only reason that I suggested such a weighty topic for discussion was, that Tom had declared that the club was unable to grapple with it. After that, of course the only thing possible was to show him that he was wrong.” “Which you can now do conclusively,” said the girl with the Roman nose, “and I am quite sure he will be surprised at the novelty of some of the arguments advanced this afternoon!” “What is it, dear?” asked the girl with the dimple in her chin, as she and the blue-eyed girl turned the corner. “You have been so bright and cheerful to-day, that I am sure something is seriously wrong.” “Indeed there is. Jack has behaved abominably! It was enough when he told Effie that Frances is the most amiable girl he ever knew; but—” “That proves conclusively that he is not engaged to her, dear. No man ever knows anything about a girl’s temper until he _is_ engaged to her.” “Oh, if you want to defend him, I shall say no more; but I did think—” “But, I don’t want to defend him. I only—” “Then, all I’ve got to say, Emily Marshmallow, is that you are prejudiced against the poor fellow. I might have known that from the start. I only wish I had not taken your advice and broken my engagement.” “But, you didn’t do it on my advice,” said the girl with the dimple in her chin; “it was all done before you said a word to me about it.”