Upon the morning after her arrival, having finished her piano-forte
practice, touched her harp twice, and arpeggioed the Spanish Fandango on
her guitar, Miss Betty read two paragraphs of "Gilbert" (for she was
profoundly determined to pursue her tasks with diligence), but the open
windows disclosing a world all sunshine and green leaves, she threw the
book aside with a good conscience, and danced out to the garden. There,
coming upon a fuzzy, white ball rolling into itself spirally on a lazy
pathway, she pounced at it, whereupon the thing uncurled with lightning
swiftness, and fled, more like a streak than a kitten, down the drive,
through the open gates and into the street, Miss Betty in full cry.

Across the way there chanced to be strolling a young lady in blue,
accompanied by a gentleman whose leisurely gait gave no indication of the
maneuvering he had done to hasten their walk into its present direction.
He was apparently thirty or thirty-one, tall, very straight, dark, smooth-
shaven, his eyes keen, deep-set, and thoughtful, and his high white hat,
white satin cravat, and careful collar, were evidence of an elaboration of
toilet somewhat unusual in Rouen for the morning; also, he was carrying a
pair of white gloves in his hand and dangled a slender ebony cane from his
wrist. The flying kitten headed toward the couple, when, with a celerity
only to be accounted for on the theory that his eye had been fixed on the
Carewe gateway for some time previous to this sudden apparition, the
gentleman leaped in front of the fugitive.

The kitten attempted a dodge to pass; the gentleman was there before it.
The kitten feinted; the gentleman was altogether too much on the spot.
Immediately--and just as Miss Carewe, flushed and glowing, ran into the
street--the small animal doubled, evaded Miss Betty's frantic clutch, re-
entered the gateway, and attempted a disappearance into the lilac bushes,