deserved--she found she couldn't look him in the face while she did

it.

So she dropped her eyes to the floor and waited for a moment of tense

silence. Then, "Am I to consider this a proposal, Mr. Woods?" she

asked, in muffled tones.

Billy stared. "Yes," said he, very gravely, after an interval.

"You see," she explained, still in the same dull voice, "you phrased

it so vaguely I couldn't well be certain. You don't propose very well,

Mr. Woods. I--I've had opportunities to become an authority on such

matters, you see, since I've been rich. That makes a difference,