"Oh, I do! I DO, Ken. Truly, there are lots of worse people than you in the world."
"Who?"
"Well,—there's Eddie Perkins."
"Oh, Patty! that fop! Well, I'll bet you can't think of another."
"No; I can't."
"Patty, how dare you! Then you'll sit right here until you can."
Laughingly Kenneth stopped dancing, and led Patty to an alcove where there were a few chairs. As they sat down, Philip Van Reypen came toward them.
"Oh, Ken," Patty cried, "I've thought of a man worse than you are! Oh, EVER so much worse! Here he is! And I simply adore bad men, so I'm going to dance with him."
Naughty Patty went dancing off with Van Reypen, and Ken looked after them, a little crestfallen.
"But," he thought, "there's no use being angry or even annoyed at that butterfly of a girl. She doesn't mean anything anyway. Some day, she'll wake up and be serious, but now she's only a little bundle of frivolity."