Alpha Book

Instead of two or three dozen small tables, scattered among the palms of
the winter garden, their hostess had preferred to construct a great oval
board around the aquarium. The arrangement made it a little easier for
Selwyn and Mrs. Ruthven. He talked to his dinner partner until she began
to respond in monosyllables, which closed each subject that he opened
and wearied him as much as he was boring her. But Bradley Harmon, the
man on her right, evidently had better fortune; and presently Selwyn
found himself with nobody to talk to, which came as near to embarrassing
him as anything could, and which so enraged his hostess that she struck
his partner's name from her lists for ever. People were already glancing
at him askance in sly amusement or cold curiosity.
Then he did a thing which endeared him to Mrs. T. West Minster and to
her two disconsolate children.
"Mrs. Ruthven," he said, very naturally and pleasantly, "I think perhaps
we had better talk for a moment or two--if you don't mind.


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