"
"How cruel you can be! But, as I'm sure of winning, I'm not afraid
to take that up. A frame against a picture, then. But there must be
a time limit."
"I'll give you a month; if you can't do it in that time, you can't
do it at all. And, also, I must be the judge,--if you do fool me,--
whether your practical joke is clever and not unkind."
"I'm quite contented that you should be the judge, for I know your
sincere and honest nature will not let you swerve a hair's breadth
from a true and fair judgment."
"That's clever," returned Patty; "for now I shall have to be
honest."
The first dance over, Patty went on with a long succession of dances
with her various partners. They were all polite and courteous young
men, some attractive and agreeable, others shy, and some dull and
uninteresting. Patty complacently accorded another dance to any one
she liked, and calmly refused it to less desirable partners,--
pleading an engagement with Cameron as her excuse.
The one she liked best was Eddie Bell. As she had said, this young
man did look a little like Patty herself, though this was mostly due
to their similarity of colouring.
"If I may say anything so impossible, it seems to me that I look
like a comic valentine of you," said Mr.
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