Gray youth

pardonable error about her sex. But the error itself had been a compliment. In speaking of "Mr. Amor

was no more to be said about it. But somehow all the fun had gone out of it. You told yourself, grossly unfairly, that if it interested Mr. Hamilton Dix it had no further interest for you. That was your loss, since Mr. Dix usually fastened on the best things. In appearance he was a big man with an overpowerin

ift of discovering the best among our younger artists which the proprietors of the Crozier seem to possess," but that was all. As a professional critic he was not eligible for member

Messrs. Crozier took people up without a certain amount of belief in them.... And that had kept Amory's head in the clouds for quite a long time.... But little by little it had dawned on Amory that time seemed of very little value to Messrs. Crozier. A thousand years in their sight-or two years, to be precise-was but as yesterday. Delay after delay had occurred; Messrs. Crozier had not judged this time to be quite

ozier embossing on the envelope flap, asking her to state at once in what state of advancement her works wer

ished to see the canvases themselves, at once; at once, mind you.... There were between twenty-five and thirty of these canvases; they were stacked round the walls like the slates in a builder's yard; and Mr. Dix rolled hi

d indeed," said Mr. Dix. "And now, Miss Towe

e so bad as it sounded. Amory watched him a little anxiou

zier is deeply apologetic about it; he's quite as much disappointed as you can possibly be; bu

erbertson, the brilliant pastelist, wa

rmission to tell you this at all. But you see the difficulty it places him in. Poor Herbertson's exhibition will be ten times as val

ensate for Amory's disappointment. Another postponement now would mean no exhibition un

's no hurry," she said, plung

reassuringly on the shoulder. The touch of his hand was

Crozier isn't that kind of man. He quite appreciates the hardship this is on you, and-don't loo

the remark about her pretty eyes. C

n account of sales, at our customary rate of interest in such cases, the pictures themselves to be our security, at a valuation to be ar

nderstand, namely, that Mr. Dix was offering her money at once. Money at once would enable her to begin

opinion-but there, I've no right to try to influence you

e advised her to cry "Done" at once befor

ounds! Amor

buys the pictures for a hundred po

gard this, if you like, as a mere solatium for the postponement-to be a first charge, of course, on whatever the pictures may ultimately fetch. That, we trust, wi

d pounds

pitately Amo

had performed a deed of bravery. A

one place, and in the afternoon she suddenly started up, crammed her hat on her head, and ran out to the confectioner's in the King's Road, where the use of a telephone was to be had for twopence. She must tell Dorothy that she particularly wanted to see her at the studio th

late of bread-and-butter and the saucerless cup she had placed on the litt

cried breathless

Amory asked, s

t-I thought perha

e trusted not to do anything quite so obvious," she replied. "You don't

he to

up with delight, or at least to say that she was glad. But instead of that Dorothy stared at Amory until Amory felt qu

again," said Dorothy, sti

y di

ng for the pict

erstand; this isn't the

t say when the

e difficult for Dorothy to realize that

rd gesture with her hands. "And you see, Dorothy," she explained kindly, "pictures aren't much good to a dealer

hardly see

hirty pictures?" s

ty-ei

hibit new ones

e new ones too,

bit them anywhere

or two

wly, "I don't think I'd

back with the air of one who might say, "Th

it seems to me that they ju

ave been next except for--" She checked herself; she had almost forgotten that Herbertson's condition was a secret. "And anyway, Mr. Dix is going to write a number of articles on

ut." She was a little disappointed in Dorothy. She thought that friends ought to rejoice at one

d something to say. For the last ten days Dorothy had been very little in the studio in Cheyne Walk; the reason for this, Amory understood, was that certain of her fe

things going on, I shall simply have to be there most of my time. There's this re-building, you see. Mr. Miller-he's Hallowell's manager, and we're doing one or two of their jobs now-he's making all sorts of new p

released from her share of the Cheyne Walk place. That simplified things. With Amory

se I should have had to do so," she said.

're accepting

it," said Amory with a laugh. "I shou

meant that if any other dealer happened to wa

ssured Dorothy. "And now," she said unselfishly,

in her own peculiar line, Dorothy

but one she sign

pounds.-But that was not Glenerne's way of looking at it. The breakfast-table gaped with astonishment. Ninety-five pounds for Miss Amory's pictures!... Pictures, of course, were pictures; they had never denied that; very pretty to look at, and hang on walls and all that, especially water-colours: but-ninety-five pounds!... Had ninety-five tongues of fire settled upon Amory's bright head they could hardly have held her in greater awe. They looked at her anew. They had actually been living in the same house with this prodigious young woman! And Mr. Edmondson had asked her whether she did not get "fed up" with painting towards the end of the day! "Fed up!" They should think so! It would take

about such as have not the gift of continence was sometimes almost Pauline in its severity: but that morning all was a golden hurly-burly. Mr. Massey, in a corner of the double drawing-room that had been dusted, lisped, blushing, that he and her aunt ha

a little. "I have taken the house on the Mall from the June quarter, and

aring, said that

appy circumstance has befallen-I think my bed will have been made; if you

covered its disarray with the counterpane. Then placing a ch

pecuniary circumstan

-"simply as a slight present, Amory-please don't thank me-it is such a pleasure to be of assistance to those who know how to help themselves." And in view of the hastened marriage Mr. Massey had further to announce that of her aunt's tiny fortune

o see you a Kauffman or a Butler or a Ro

eorge. The educational bookseller wiped his glasses. Somehow or other Amory had the impression that e

f success. Two thousand would hardly be too much; but call it a thousand in order to be perfectly safe. Her two pounds a week would be mere glove-money. She could spend that on handkerchiefs. Not real lace ones, of course; she would have to do better even than a thousand before she could afford real lace ones, with everything else to match; but this, after all, was only a beginning. Ten pounds a canvas? Why, Morton, who did not paint half as well as she did, had got three hundred for that rubbishy "Fête Galante" only the other day-a thing shockingly out of drawing, and the colour-oh dear! "Aha!" (Amor

their booking-clerkships and estate-agencies too much. It was enough that they saw things now as they really were. Young Mr. Edmondson would no more have dared to speak to her of squeezing at the Crystal Palace now than he would have dared to discuss with her the subjects that made her friendship with Cosimo so wonderful; it was, rather, a quite aged and very much subdued Mr. Edmondson who for a full hour talked o

nounced the fact to Miss Addams. Not only had no opposition been offered; it had been tacitly accepted that Glenerne was no place for one to whom these stupendous things could happen. A

am. It was early; it was not likely that Cosimo would have gone out. She mig

when, a day or two later still, there followed half a dozen quotations from that same article from the provincial papers-Glenerne was almost glad of Amory's translation. The ho