let's sum up the knowledge of you which this eminently responsible Mrs. Thorne could furnish us. Of course, she would write most complimentarily and reassuringly. But in essentials all she could say would be, 'I know Mr. Preston's mother. He himself has invariably been polite to people at my dinners and he dances decidedly well; and, moreover, my dear, he is one of those almost unique men who pay party calls.' Come now," she laughed, "the only real knowledge which she could give us of you—to absolutely satisfy Mr. Dunneston and you, too—would be just about as vital as that, wouldn't it?"
"Yes," Preston had to admit reluctantly, but not without appreciation. "That would really be about it."
"Now understand, Mr. Preston," the girl warned teasingly, "since for some reason or other you so clearly do not wish to go on with us to-morrow, I am not urging you for yourself. But Mr. Dunneston gave me a sort of dare this afternoon, which I took."
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