"You would not lend them to your sisters, I presume?" adopting her well-known quarrelsome attitude, "though you offer them to me."

"Oh, I've no sisters, thank the Lord! As to offering the books—you might have jumped at them. I did not know what sort you were. You see, a fellow never can tell——"

"I see Verona looking this way. She is coming to fetch me——"

"Er—is she your keeper? Has she got you on the chain?"

"No; I should pity her if she had!"

"Then you and I are in sympathy—a pair of bold, independent spirits. When shall I see you again—Dom?"

"Perhaps to-morrow at the Club."

"Oh, so you come to the Club. Hurrah!"

"Yes, for books and tennis; but we are complete outsiders, as you will soon discover."

"You will never be an outsider to me, Dom—already you have your place——"