Then his eyes wandered off to the cornice of the
wall, whose florid rococo upholstery won his sincere approval.
"Hang it!" he murmured impatiently, pulling a gold watch from his
waistcoat pocket. "That loon Jack--he never does keep an engagement."
At this moment, distant footsteps were heard, which, as they
approached, resounded with a sepulchral distinctness on the marble
pavement. Presently a young man entered breathlessly, holding his hat
in one hand and a white handkerchief in the other.
"Harry," he cried, excitedly, "I have found the goddess of the place.
Come quick, before she vanishes. It is a rare chance, I tell you."
He seized his companion's arm and, ignoring his remonstrances, almost
dragged him through the door by which he had entered.
"What sort of lunacy is it you are up to now, Jack?" the other was
heard to grumble. "I'll bet ten to one you have been making an ass of
yourself."
"I dare say I have," retorted Jack, good-naturedly; "a man who has not
the faculty of making a fool of himself occasionally is only half a
man. You would be a better fellow, too, Harry, if you were not so
deucedly respectable; a slight admixture of folly would give tone and
color to your demure and rigid propriety.
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