Polly’s friends had not completed their dressing when Tom was announced, but she was waiting in the cozy library; so Tom crossed the long formal parlor in a few strides, when he caught sight of her in the softly shaded light of the floor-lamp.

“Polly! Oh, but I’m glad to see you again!” breathed he as he caught both hands and devoured her smiles with his eyes.

“I should hope you would be glad! Isn’t everyone I know glad to see me after they have been absent a long time?” laughed Polly, in a matter-of-fact tone.

But Tom glanced hastily about the room. Then he quite unexpectedly leaned forward and caught her face between his palms. “Polly Brewster, I’m going to salute you with a brotherly kiss!” whispered Tom, and immediately, he pressed a kiss upon her red lips—but Polly felt sure it was not like John’s kisses.

She tried to free her head from his powerful hands, but he laughed masterfully and held her under the light while he gazed into her eyes. Finally Polly felt herself growing warm and flushed, and to stop his look she closed her eyes and began kicking at his shins.

With a happy laugh, Tom freed her face and picked her up in his arms. In three long strides he was over at the divan where he placed her, sitting upright. Then he sat down beside her.

“Why—Tom Latimer!” gasped Polly, angrily, trying to rearrange her hair which had become tumbled in the fray.

“Why—Tom Latimer!” laughed he, mimicking Polly very cleverly. “You don’t know this Tom, do you, girl! But this is the Tom that you’ll know hereafter. I’m through acting like a woolly lamb just because Anne says that’s the only way to get a girl! You’re a Rocky Mountain girl and the only way to make you notice, is to use ranch methods to lasso you. That’s why I’m here in New York. Catch me letting a rich society darling like that Baxter spend the winter months making love to you, when I’m wasting my heart away at Pebbly Pit, hoping against hope for a nice long letter from you!”

Tom’s frown and the tone in which he declared himself, made Polly want to laugh albeit she shrunk away, somewhat, for fear of a plot in his mind.

Tom had, in his fervor, lost control once, but he was too wise to indulge himself again, in such a manner. Tom had spent a great deal of time in studying, during the past year, the psychology of love, and now he was going to test his knowledge. He told John, just before he left the ranch, that once a girl liked a fellow, it was easy to make her love him, by judicious treatment. In explanation, he said:

“When Jeb wants to coax one of the burros to the barn, he doesn’t give him the measure of oats to eat out on the range—no, he leads the burro to the barn by holding the box of feed ahead of his nose!”

The Brewsters laughed at Tom’s idea, but he declared that that was the way he was going to get Polly. And all their arguments about giving Polly a chance to finish her studies and try out her beloved work, fell on dull ears. Tom started East!

“Polly, let’s all go to a good show, shall we?” was Tom’s unexpected invitation, just as his companion began to worry because he sat so close beside her.

“Oh! Yes—I think that will be lovely!” said Polly.

“All right! Run up and tell the others to get their caps and jackets on. I’ll telephone an agent and see what’s good.”

Polly ran out of the room, glad to have the problem of the evening’s entertainment solved for her, but still she felt a little disappointed because Tom could so eagerly suggest taking the family out when she wanted to have a tÊte-À-tÊte with him to ask about the mines. Tom’s plan about holding the temptation before a burro instead of surfeiting him with goodies, was evidently beginning to work.

The play was one of the most popular ones, and seats were in great demand. But money does anything in New York, so Tom secured splendid orchestra seats, and they reached the theatre just as the curtain went up on the first scene. The interior was darkened when they entered, and Polly could not tell who sat in front of her, until the first act ended and the lights were turned on.

Tom sat beside her, and began whispering in his free western voice, when a young man seated directly in front, turned deliberately around and stared at him. Polly gasped, and Eleanor nudged her in the side. It was Jack Baxter!

Without taking his eyes from Tom, Jack reached under the chair and got his hat. Then he dragged his coat over his arm, and got up. He bowed stiffly to the girls in Tom’s party, and went out. Tom waited until he was gone, then he looked down at Polly.

“Um! It was high time I came East, I see!”

“Why?” was Polly’s smiling rejoinder.

“By next Spring it might have been Tom who sat alone and felt like the fifth wheel in a wagon instead of Baxter. My, but I’m glad I came!”

Polly frowned, and Eleanor did her best to hear what was said between these two apparently phlegmatic companions. But Tom meant his words for Polly’s ears only.

Once during the evening, when the light was so low that the theatre was almost dark, Tom changed his position in such a way that his arm rested over the back of Polly’s chair. In his interest in the scene on the stage, his hand dropped carelessly upon her shoulder. And Polly was too engaged with the play to remove it, or even change her position to allow it to fall back again.

Then Tom moved, so that his arms touched hers, and his hand that rested upon one knee, could cover Polly’s hand while the audience was enthralled by the burglar’s escape, and no one but Eleanor had the slightest idea of what was going on in these two orchestra chairs. But Polly grew restive and tried to free her hand.

Then the lights went up again, and Tom moved away and said apologetically: “These seats are so cramped for such a great fellow as I am!”

And Polly replied tartly: “Yes, they really ought to allow more room for people’s hands and arms.”

Eleanor smiled wisely, and sent Tom a teasing look.

John Baxter did not come back to claim his seat that evening, and the play ended without Polly having given him another thought. Poor Jack!

After Tom reached New York, there seemed very little time for Polly in which to hunt up antiques in the country, or to attend sales that were advertised at various places. Then Winter weather set in, and that gave her the necessary excuse that the automobile could not travel in snow or mud.

All but Tom and Polly thought that Tom’s plot to win Polly from her chosen profession seemed to be succeeding. But Tom felt that he had not had much encouragement as yet; and Polly was having a very nice time with an old friend she liked better than other young men, without feeling unduly indebted for the pleasure.

Although the Latimers lived uptown in New York, they saw little of Tom during the first weeks of his return to the City. He stopped at a hotel not far from the Fabian’s place, and made duty-calls on his father and mother at regular intervals, but they understood what he came East for, and they wished him all success.

Time passed quickly, with a new pastime planned by Tom, for each day. And most of these pleasures included the other girls, as well as Polly. So the enjoyment was general, and Polly could not say that Tom tried to get her company for himself, by leaving her friends out of any fun.

December came in, and the Christmas season advanced, with Tom still leading a gay life and escorting the girls to every pleasure or entertainment they heard of; and Polly was still the kind little “sister” to him in every way, but nothing more.

Tom had selected his Christmas gift for Polly, but no one had been told about it. This he had kept absolutely secret. The Christmas Holidays came and all schools closed, so that the girls had no studies to attend to, and no art work to prepare. Jim Latimer and his chum Kenneth came home from Yale for the two weeks’ vacation, and they immediately called on Polly and Eleanor.

Tom saw how gladly Polly welcomed Jim and Kenneth, and he began to wonder if she really preferred a young boy’s society to his. Polly and Jim were about the same age—not quite eighteen, while he—Tom, was almost twenty-four. Such a decrepit old age!

The evening Jim planned to visit Polly and take Kenneth along for Eleanor, Tom, to the surprise of his parents, spent the entire evening with them; but he was not very attentive to what his mother said, nor did he seem over-pleased with being at home.

Jim and Kenneth were noisy, active young college boys, and they furnished lots of fun that evening, of the energetic, “center-rush” kind. But Polly was relieved when they had said good-night and were gone.

Eleanor laughed at the way Jim “rough-housed” both girls when he tried to kiss them good-night, and Polly indignantly told him he would never be invited there again! Jim laughed and caught hold of Polly to shake her for such a threat, but he smacked her loudly on the lips, instead.

As the two girls went upstairs to retire, Polly said: “I’m sure Jim wouldn’t have acted so silly if his big brother had been here!”

Eleanor then added: “We have such lovely evenings with Tom, that this sort of horse-play gets on my nerves!” Then she slyly watched her friend’s expression to try and read her mind.

“I wonder why Tom never came in tonight?” said Polly.

“Jack Baxter met me this afternoon, and he says Tom goes uptown regularly, to see a girl. Jack shadowed him and knows exactly where the girl lives. But he didn’t say I must not tell you,” said Eleanor, confidentially. Neither did she add that she had heard the address of this “girl” and knew it to be Tom’s home and mother.

Polly flushed, but said nonchalantly: “Poor Tom! He feels awfully bored with us girls, at times!”

“I should think so! especially if he came home for a visit with the idea of finding a nice girl to propose to. Now Jack thinks that Tom, with his good looks, his wonderful intelligence, and his family-tree, to say nothing of the Latimer fortune, ought to be able to take his pick of any New York girl that is looking for an ideal husband,” remarked Eleanor, guilelessly.

Polly flashed her a look. “Since when has Jack Baxter dropped his maligning of Tom Latimer, and started to admire him?”

Eleanor bit her lips to prevent a smile, but she replied, innocently: “Why, Jack always did admire Tom, even when he met him at Pebbly Pit. But he is jealous of him, for all the admiration he has for him. But I’ll tell you, Polly: I wouldn’t trust Jack in a case of ‘love or war.’ He’d as soon make Tom believe you were in love with another man, as anything else, if he could win a point by it.”

But Eleanor over-stepped her ambition this time. Polly quickly replied: “Then Jack must be trying to ‘win a point’ when he got you to tell me that Tom was calling on another girl, uptown.”

Eleanor realized her error and had common sense enough not to endeavor to explain it away. She merely said: “Oh well, Tom is too handsome a fellow to be wandering about New York these nights without a guardian. Some wide awake girl is going to snap him up the first chance!”

“Seems to me, Nolla, that Tom has been wandering about since he arrived in the City, with a whole bevy of guardians to keep him from snares and pitfalls. With all of us girls surrounding him, a fine chance any other girl could have found to snap him.”

Eleanor was evidently getting worsted in her well-meant plan to further Tom’s case, so she wisely decided to keep still.

Nothing was heard from Tom the next day, although Polly was sure he would call, or telephone, before evening. Then the telephone did ring, but it was Mr. Dalken, inviting the entire family over to his apartment for a party that evening.

“Just an impromptu affair, you know, with some of our old friends coming in to spend the evening.”

Mrs. Fabian accepted for herself and husband, and said she would see if the girls had any engagement. She came back to the living-room where they were waiting for dinner to be announced.

“Are you girls going out this evening, or have you any engagement at home?” asked she.

Nancy shook her head, and Eleanor replied: “For a great wonder, we haven’t a blessed thing on for tonight! First evening free in months!”

“Mr. Dalken wants us to come over and join some old friends, just for a nice visit,” ventured Mrs. Fabian, looking from one girl to the other.

“Fine! Anything but sitting here staring at Polly’s concerned face,” retorted Eleanor.

Mrs. Fabian smiled and went to answer Mr. Dalken, but Polly sat up and asked Eleanor what she meant by that.

“Oh, ask yourself, Polly, you’ve been mooning around all day looking like ‘Gottschalk’s Last Hope.’ One speaks to you, and you never hear what’s said. The very house could burn down but you’d never know it. You’d roast without feeling any sensation in it!” declared Eleanor, impatiently. Nancy laughed at both girls.

After dinner, while the girls were dressing to go to Mr. Dalken’s, Eleanor went to Polly’s room to be hooked up. When she saw Polly arrayed in one of her most fetching Paris dresses she stood and stared.

“Why! we’re not going to the Opera!” said she.

“We’re going to Mr. Dalken’s, aren’t we?” asked Polly.

“Yes, but Jack won’t be there—nor Tom, either,” was Eleanor’s smooth reply.

“I hadn’t thought of who might be there, I dressed for my old friend, Mr. Dalken. He is so correct in these matters, so I want to do justice to his friendship,” Polly scored this time.

Eleanor did not wait to be hooked up but rushed back to her own room, and when Polly met her again, down in the hall, she had changed her gown, also, and looked very attractive, indeed.

Because of the delay occasioned by Eleanor, the Fabian party was late in reaching Mr. Dalken’s. The other guests were already there, and to Polly’s intense gratification, not only was Jack assisting the host for the evening, but Tom sat in one corner of the large living room, looking at a book of snap-shots taken by Mr. Dalken while out in the Rockies. So engrossed was Tom in the pictures, that he did not lift his head when new-comers were welcomed.

Polly glanced over at the corner and finding Tom so interested in mountain charms, while female charms abounded so near him, she felt peeved and smiled radiantly on Jack. Eleanor saw, and determined that she would not permit matters to go astray again, as she had taken such trouble to get Mr. Dalken to plan this impromptu gathering just to give Polly the opportunity to see both suitors together—to the advancement of one or the other’s interest. Eleanor had no doubt that it would be Tom’s advancement.

So she flirted outrageously with Jack, to the amusement of Mr. Dalken who understood how matters were with all the young people. Thus Eleanor was cozily cornered with Jack in the den, doing her utmost to make him forget Polly for the time being, when the Jap came to the living-room door and announced a new caller.