"
"Walter! By the way, you mustn't forget to ask Mildred for a
dance before the evening is over."
"Me?" He produced the lop-sided appearance of his laugh, but
without making it vocal. "You watch me do it!"
"She probably won't have one left, but you must ask her, anyway."
"Why must I?"
"Because, in the first place, you're supposed to, and, in the
second place, she's my most intimate friend."
"Yeuh? Is she? I've heard you pull that 'most-intimate-friend'
stuff often enough about her. What's SHE ever do to show she
is?"
"Never mind. You really must ask her, Walter. I want you to;
and I want you to ask several other girls afterwhile; I'll tell
you who."
"Keep on wanting; it'll do you good."
"Oh, but you really----"
"Listen!" he said. "I'm just as liable to dance with any of
these fairies as I am to buy a bucket o' rusty tacks and eat 'em.
Forget it! Soon as I get rid of you I'm goin' back to that room
where I left my hat and overcoat and smoke myself to death."
"Well," she said, a little ruefully, as the frenzy of Jazz Louie
and his half-breeds was suddenly abated to silence, "you
mustn't--you mustn't get rid of me TOO soon, Walter."
They stood near one of the wide doorways, remaining where they
had stopped. Other couples, everywhere, joined one another,
forming vivacious clusters, but none of these groups adopted the
brother and sister, nor did any one appear to be hurrying in
Alice's direction to ask her for the next dance.
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