"Tell me, Mr. Loring," interposed Constance, who had been silently thoughtful all this while; "would this unpaid attachment at Mr. Gamble's bank interfere with his present success if Mr. Courtney—or any one else whom Mr. Gamble might try to interest—were to hear of it?" 

 "It might—and very seriously," returned Loring. 

 The long somnolent game was suddenly awakened by two blissful errors, which gave the audience something to jeer at. A tally slipped home for Boston. A sharp double play redeemed the errors and closed the inning. The first man up for the Yankees drove a clean two-bagger down the right foul line; the second man laid down his life nobly with a beautiful bunt; the Boston pitcher gave a correct imitation of Orville Wright and presented free rides to the next two Highlanders; big Sweeney stalked to bat—and the congregation prayed, standing. Under cover of all this quivering excitement, and with Gresham more absorbed than ever upon the foul which might yet slay him, Constance turned to Polly with an intent decisiveness which was quite new to her. 

 "Arrange it so that I may go home in Mr. Loring's car," she directed. 

 "Three cheers!" approved Polly, with a spiteful glance at Gresham. 

 Mr. Courtney, a live-looking elderly gentleman who kept himself more carefully groomed than many a young man, had shaken hands with Mr. Gamble quite cordially, had studied him through and through and through in about half a second of time, and had finished the hand-shake more cordially than he had begun it. 

 "The colonel has been saying all sorts of kind things about you,"—he very graciously stated. 

 "So he has about you," returned Johnny, smiling into Mr. Courtney's eyes and liking him. 

 "I suppose so," admitted Mr. Courtney. "The colonel's always blowing about his friends, so we mustn't trust each other too far." 

 "That's a good way to start anyhow," laughed Johnny. "The colonel's been telling me you're so trusting that you stung yourself." 

 "How's that?" asked Mr. Courtney, looking at the colonel in perplexity. "I don't quite understand." 

 "On that hotel deal," the colonel affably reminded him, and was unkind enough to laugh. 

 "You old reprobate!" protested Courtney. "I don't see 

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