He
did not mince his words. His attitude towards a member of the peerage
was that of the terrier to the perambulating cat.
It was at a charity bazaar that Isabel and Clarence first met. Isabel
was presiding over the Billiken, Teddy--bear, and Fancy Goods stall.
There she stood, that slim, radiant girl, bouncing Ardent Youth out of
its father's hard--earned with a smile that alone was nearly worth the
money, when she observed, approaching, the handsomest man she had ever
seen. It was--this is not one of those mystery stories--it was
Clarence Tresillian. Over the heads of the bevy of gilded youths who
clustered round the stall their eyes met. A thrill ran through Isabel.
She dropped her eyes. The next moment Clarence had made his spring; the
gilded youths had shredded away like a mist, and he was leaning towards
her, opening negotiations for the purchase of a yellow Teddy-bear at
sixteen times its face value.
He returned at intervals during the afternoon. Over the second Teddy-bear
they became friendly, over the third intimate. He proposed as she was
wrapping up the fourth golliwog, and she gave him her heart and the
parcel simultaneously. At six o'clock, carrying four Teddy-bears, seven
photograph frames, five golliwogs, and a billiken, Clarence went home
to tell the news to his parents.
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