Athalie

"That's the girl. And that's all she is, just a girl, with

all the softness and freshness and fragrance of youth still

clinging to her. She's some peach-blossom, take it from

uncle! And she is straight; or I'm a million miles away in

the lockup.

"And now, granted she's morally straight, how can she be

square in business? Do you get me? It's past me. All I can

think of is that, being straight, the girl feels herself that

she's also square.

"Yet, if that is so, how can she fool others so neatly?

"Listen, Clive: I was at a dance at the Faithorn's;

tremendous excitement among pin-heads and debutantes! Athalie

was expected, professionally. And sure enough, just before

supper, in strolls a radiant, wonderful young thing making

them all look like badly faded guinea-hens--and somehow I get

the impression that she is receiving her hostess instead of

the contrary. Talk about self-possession and absolute

simplicity! She had 'em all on the bench. Happening to catch

my eye she held out her hand with one of those smiles she can

be guilty of--just plain assassination, Clive!--and I stuck

to her until the pin-heads crowded me out, and the rubbering

women got my shoulders all over paint. And now here's where

she gets 'em. There's no curtained corner, no pasteboard

trophies, no gipsy shawls and bangles, no lowering of lights,

no closed doors, no whispers.

"Whoever asks her anything spooky she answers in a sweet and

natural voice, as though replying to an ordinary question.

She makes no mystery of it. Sometimes she can't answer, and

she says so without any excuse or embarrassment. Sometimes

her replies are vague or involved or even apparently

meaningless. She admits very frankly that she is not always

able to understand what her reply means.

"However she says enough--tells, reveals, discovers, offers

sound enough advice--to make her the plaything of the

season.

"And it's a cinch that she scores more bull's eyes than

blanks. I had a seance with her. Never mind what she told me.

Anyway it was devilish clever,--and true as far as I knew.

And I suppose the chances are good that the whole business

will happen to me. Watch me.

"I think Athalie must have cleared a lot of money already.

Mrs. Faithorn told me she gave her a cheque for five hundred

that evening. And Athalie's private business must be pretty

good because all the afternoon until five o'clock carriages

and motors are coming and going. And you ought to see who's

in 'em. Your prospective father-in-law was in one! Perhaps he

wanted inside information about Dominion Fuel--that damn

stock which has done a few things to me since I monkeyed with

it.