324 



riiF. A MK arc AN jiEK- keeper. 



November 



"He was a knockout, that German 

 was." 



"And the girl who played the banjo, 

 and the" — 



"It was great," agreed Mr. Apps — 

 "great." 



The large ballroom was very full. A 

 small covey of briglitly dressed young 

 people flew toward the young hostess to 

 complain of her temporary absence from 

 the room, and a broad shouldered gon- 

 dolier shook hands with her and took 

 up her card with something of an air of 

 proprietorship, 



"I thought I had left the key in the 

 — excuse me." The young hostess took 

 back her card from the gondolier. "I 

 am engaged to Captain Norman. You 

 don't know him? Allow me." 



"Pleased to meet you," said Mr. 

 Henry Apps. " 'Ow's the world using 

 you?" 



"That'.s an original costume of yours, 

 Captain Norman," remarked the gon- 

 dolier. "I don't know that I've ever 

 seen anything so daringly real before." 



"Well, wot of it?" demanded Mr. 

 Apps with sudden aggressiveness. 

 "Wot's the odds to you wot I like to 

 •wear? You needn't think you're" — 



"Captain Norman," interposed the 

 young hostess laughingly, "you mustn't 

 overdo the part. Look here, I've put 

 your name down for this waltz, but it 

 you like we'll sit it out — -that is, if you 

 promise to keep up that diverting east 

 3nd talk. 1 like it. Do you think you 

 san manage to do so?" 



"Ra-ther," said Mr. Apps. 



"And it is a capital make up, Cap- 

 iain Norman," she went on. "Do you 

 know that at first, just for one moment, 

 I thought you were a real burglar. " 



"Fancy that now," said Mr. Apps, 

 He was relieved at seeing an obvious 

 way out of bis diflficulty. "There's 

 nothing like doing the thing in a prop- 

 er, striteforward w'y. " 



"And," said Lady Staplehurst, with 

 her fan on his arm as they walked 

 across the room, "you have got the 

 €ast end accent capitally." 



" 'Taint so dusty, is it?" 



She beckoned to the gondolier. 



"Captain Norman and I are great 

 friends," she said in an explanatory 

 way. "He has not been long home from 

 abroad, and he knows scarcely any one. " 



"Not a Dlessed soul," echoed Mr. 



Apps. 



"You must let me show you round a 

 bit. Captain Norman," said the gon-lo- 

 lier with determined geniality. "Can 

 you come round to my club one night 

 this week?" 



"Whaft'or?" demanded Mr. Apps sus- 

 piciously. 



"Why, to dine. Say Thursday. " 



" 'Eaveu knows where I shall be on 

 Fursday, " said Mr Apps. "I don't." 



"You must consider me at your dis- 

 posal if you require any introductions. 

 I know a good lot of people, and any 

 friend of Lady Staiilehurst's" — 



"Oh, come off the roof," said Mr. 

 Apps with much discontent. "'Wot's 

 the use of torking?" 



"Isn't it capital?" asked Lady Sta- 

 plehurst of the gondolier delightedly. 

 "How much more interesting it would 

 be if every one would only talk to me 

 in their character." 



Lady Staplehurst rose with something 

 of hurry in her manner and spoke to 

 Henry VIII. 



"What regiment do you belong to, 

 Oaptain Norman?" asked the gondolier. 



"Find out," said Mr. Apps. 



"Am I too curious? I know very lit- 

 tle of the army, I'm afraid." The gon- 

 dolier was resolved to be agreeable to 

 Lady Staplehurst's friend. "I always 

 dodge the army nights in the house. I 

 suppose you know several of the service 

 members?" 



"I know as many as I want to know, " 

 said Mr. Apps evasively. "A man in 

 my position of life 'as to bea bitcareful 

 who he -mixes up with. " 



The hostess returned from Henry VIII. 



"I can make nothing of this man," 

 whispered tlie gondolier to her as he 

 rose. "I think he's silly." 



"If you knew his qualities, you 

 wouldn't speak of hirn like that." She 

 resumed her seat by the side of Mr. 

 Henry Apps. 



"Well, blow me," said Lady Staple- 

 hurst, screwing her pretty mouth in her 

 effort to imitate the cockney's accent, 

 "blow me if this ain^t a fair take — I 

 mean tike dahn, " she laughed. "It's of 

 no use, Captain Norman. I can't talk 

 as you can. " 



"It's a gift," said Mr. Apps, "that's 

 what it is. " 



"You don't want to be introduced to 

 anybody here, I suppose?" 



