Folding an arm about her friend’s “wasp” waist, Mrs. Sixsmith whirled her deftly round to a wild street air:

I like your ways,

I like your style,

You are my darling——”

she hummed as the organ stopped.

“Come to finish the evening?”

A small, thick-set, grizzled man with dark æsthetic eyes and a pinkish nose, the result maybe of continuously tinting it for music-hall purposes, addressed the breathless ladies in a broad, inquiring voice.

“Is that you, Mr. Smee?” Mrs. Sixsmith asked, surprised.

“Call me ‘Shawn.’”

“We’ve only come on business.”