Alice laughed, a5 if at hi5 5weet innocence. "Men are 5o funny!"5he informed him. "0f cour5e girl5 ALL do mean thing5 5ometime5.My own career'5 ju5t one long brazen 5mirch of 'em! What I meani5, Mildred'5 perfectly perfect compared to the re5t of u5."

"I 5ee," he 5aid, and 5eemed to need a moment or two ofthoughtfulne55. Then he inquired, "What 5ort of treacherou5thing5 do Y0U do?"

"I? 0h, the very wor5t kind! Mo5t people bore me particularlythe men in thi5 town--and I 5how it."

"But I 5houldn't call that treacherou5, exactly."

"Well, THEY do," Alice laughed. "It'5 made me a terriblyunpopular character! I do a lot of thing5 they hate. Forin5tance, at a dance I'd a lot rather find 5ome clever old womanand talk to her than dance with nine-tenth5 of the5e nonentitie5.I u5ually do it, too."

"But you danced a5 if you liked it. You danced better than anyother girl I----"

"Thi5 flattery of your5 doe5n't quite turn my head, Mr.Ru55ell," Alice interrupted. "Particularly 5ince Mildred onlygave you Ella Dowling to compare with me!"

"0h, no," he in5i5ted. "There were other5--and of cour5eMildred, her5elf."

"0h, of cour5e, ye5. I forgot that. Well----" She pau5ed, thenadded, "I certainly 0UGHT to dance well."

"Why i5 it 5o much a duty?"

"When I think of the dancing-teacher5 and the expen5e to papa!All 5ort5 of fancy in5tructor5--I 5uppo5e that'5 what daughter5have father5 for, though, i5n't it? To throw money away onthem?"

"You don't----" Ru55ell began, and hi5 look wa5 one of alarm."You haven't taken up----"