head over heels in love with you? You're not very complimentary, are you? Or is it that you were throwing bouquets at yourself?"

"Will you tell me why you did it?" he asked, flushing hotly under the jibe.

"Because I wished Patricia to see it."

"Why?"

"I thought it might bring her to her senses."

"How, Beatrice?"

"Jealousy, you dunce!"

"But why the rest of your superb play-acting?"

"It all works out toward the same end. Don't you suppose that Patricia is in hot water, by this time? When she realized that we had sneaked away, to put it plainly, don't you think she would put two and two together, and make four out of it?"

"It strikes me," he interrupted her, with a light laugh, "that this is a case where two are supposed to make one."

"We won't joke about it, if you please. Still, that isn't a bad idea. But, at all events, I wish Patricia to believe that we left the opera-house because, for the moment at least, you preferred my society to hers. If we can convince her that we ran away to be married, so much the better!"

"You are deeper than I am, Bee. I confess that you've got me up a tree. I haven't the least idea what you are driving at, but I am quite willing to be taught. What is to be the next play in this little game of yours?"

"You need not be nasty about it, when I'm trying to help you," she retorted.

"What's the next move, Bee? I couldn't induce you to give me another hug, could I? There, now—don't get angry. I liked it, whether you did, or not. You put a lot of ginger into it, too. Oh, yes, I liked it!"

For a moment, it seemed as if she would resent his bantering tone; then she shrugged her shoulders, and smiled.

"I did it to help you—to make Patricia jealous." She laughed lightly, still keeping her face turned away from him. "I saw the curtains part, and recognized Patricia. With the recognition, there came also a revelation as to how I could best help you both. If I had dreamed that you 

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