"But now you put it that way, he doesn't sound like a
worthy cause a bit."
The men laughed, though Joy's words hadn't sounded particularly witty
to herself. "I'm going to abjure duty now," she went on hurriedly.
"The orchestra's playing that thing people can dance me to----"
She held her hand and arm gracefully high, in the old minuet pose,
and laughed up at Clarence. _He_ wasn't supposed to be her
lover, and yet he saw through Gail when John didn't----
"By Jove, I can do the minuet!" he said eagerly. "Can you, Miss Joy?"
She smiled and nodded.
_"Grandma told me all about it,
Taught me so I could not doubt it,"_
she sang softly.
"We'll do it--we'll do it for the happy villagers!" proclaimed Clarence.
"Here, Tiddy, go cut a girl out of the herd, and find Harrington,
too. We're the bell-cows. All you others have to do is to obediently
follow us--the men follow me and the women tag around after Miss
Joy--which last seems wrong, but can't be helped."
"Not at all," said John amiably. "Far be it from me to seem to steal
your thunder, Rutherford, but I, too, was in the village pageant
last year, and I minuet excellently. All my grateful patients said
so. You know, if you led off, they might take you for the man who's
going to marry Miss Havenith."
Clarence couldn't very well do or say anything to his host, but he
looked far from pleased as John took Joy's hand and quietly led her
into line.
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