their best days; and their career gave the Impression of never/having had any "best days'"— in a virtuous sense — at all. "Horrid person! How dare he stand there ogling us?" Miss Morley mentally exclaimed, finding some satisfaction • In the plural, vthough, as a matter of fact, the man had never once removed his eyes from Cecily Grant's face. . -. Cissy had not yet noticed him. She was talking wi£h Dorothy Lane, the girl with whom she was most intlrnate-^-If she could be said to be Intimate witn ah/'one In the school: but Just as Miss Morley glanced toward the pair to see what Cissy was doing, Dorothy Lane's, eyes roved to the window.' She saw the man ' lh~ the shabby frock coat and- once shining tall hat, who was walking slowly past the,big window, and she saw, too, what was 'the attraction. Turning to her friend, she said something in a low voice.-, But Miss Morley had trained her ears to abnormal shaapness— or where would have been one of her chief qualifications as a chaperon for giddy schoolgirls?— and she heard the words: . ;"-'¦'... I .. \,..' ' "There's a' tail "dark man- outside the' window very much Interested In you, my dear." ' -¦ '¦¦....'¦ • A sudden rush of color streamed to Cecily's forehead, making even her pretty ears' pink; as rose petals. "The little flirt!" thought MIsb Morley. ' "She's not offended at all. She's actually pleased." Cissy did not look out at the window. On the contrary, she lowered her long lashes and took the opportunity of drink ing some tea; but there was a half-smile on her lips, and certainly It appeared for a- moment as if Miss Morley. were, right Then 'Dorothy Lane spoke again. ,j 1 "Do Just take >a . glimpse, my .- child.* He's .got .a -horrid -face.". ¦ • . ' ' • : At this Cls'sy ' seemed . ; surprised. . Bh« even forgot to set down her teacup, but balanced It 'absent-mindedly in the sir. . ,"A horrid, face?'*; she 'repeated, -as if -she had hardly been able to believe her own ears'. . - - ¦ ". • ¦ ¦ : .'.'¦ -'' ; : "•:; - .- ,::.., i ¦ . And slowly she turned her eyes to the window, Miss Morley covertly watching all the. Mm©. ; j. . ;, ; ;.;, j.,,.: . , -. Crash!, went the Japanese teacrjpflrito its saucer. , It did not . break, ; but the tea spilt over, and all the girls at the three .tables put close together for th* party from Ashburton House gave little Jumps or exclamations. .• '- ¦ ,, ¦ , . ' '.'What Is the^ matter. Miss Grant?" in quired Miss Morley,. with -^verity. "Oh, nothing— nothing at all," Cissy as sured her, hastily. ''Didn't you ever have a funny; give-away ibrt of feeling in your wrist? What a crash "the poor cup made. Luckily It didn't break. ,J suppose I don't deserve any more ' tea : after that, do I?" She' rattled on quickly in a confused way, as was Indeed ; quite natural,' since the noise * of the f v.cup m coming Into such violent .contact^ with . her;, saucer had at tracted* irio're; attention- to her than ever. But instead of '.blushing aa most normal girls would have vbluBhjed* for their awk wardness, this abandoned girl had turned deadly white. 7v, \. v -;; ".-;,•"•. ,.-'-." ; -^ .Often Miss' Morley had thought of lat« that Cissy, Grant was; not looking as bright as she had when, she first came to Ashburton House, but never had 6h» seen her as pale • as now. - t . . vj .^ /.'.'Aren't you : ,well?". conscientiously Inl qujred'the ¦ chaperon.;... -.'. : ¦' ... . ,' ¦ . "Quite well, \tbank' you," replied -Cissy, trying to smile. "Only— I daresay 'it': coming into this warm place and drink, ing hot tea after the. cold out of doors' I think I must have been a little- gidd. fd,r a minute.;, Please don't mind." .. , "You'look ready, to faint, dear," ex claimed f Dorothy Lane. . . ¦ "I think,", went on , Miss Morley, "thaY if you are all ready wo had better go home." ; .v ¦ :*\ ¦'•'.'.. ¦' _•..;-¦¦ . : J . .'.;.,--'. ¦ ; ,_ "Oh, ~ no!" ejaculated Cissy. \ "Surely nofyet. We've been here no time at all. and— and 'It's 'my last day." 'V • I • ; *. ¦ '.'Your, last day*.but two/" Miss Morley corrected her., .: ';..¦;;*; ''I-:.;-*"..::'"': >„ "That's what^I meant,**, meekly. "It's my last. party.""- "¦ " '- Afterward 'Miss •' Morley remembered' those words" against Cissy. >ItV my las: day." But at the . moment ; she was al most ready, to give way and allow the girls to finish out their hour at;-the Bond, street tea-rooms, when Cissy herself hal. rose,' nervously. And^ if, the 'girl had beer white i -a; few seconds before, she was reo enough now to atone for it.' >v-. ' '.'Does she want to go 'after all?" ; Miss Morley was wondering. In amazement, at so abrupt a change of . mind, j when her No, Miss Cecil Grant had no, thought ott 1 1 « > l.lT.g***Sh£ > ."Kau orwy given that* start. as' ' if .to rise, either in sheer nervousness or "Obnoxious"! was precisely the term for the man. He was of a type which Miss Morley In her character of chaperon par ticularly repudiated. Once he might "have been handsome, but life had carved telltale lines on the dark features, making his one of those "con cave faces beaten in ,and marred by the cloven hoof of sin." His clothes had been good, and might have been, traced back to the hands, of a smart tailor in whose books they were very likely written 4own as a bad debt. But they had seen' Even Miss Morley liked and admired Cissy in her way. But Cissy was not yet IS; all life was before her, and every thing that was best, in life was at her com mand. Miss Morley was 40. had never had any "life" worth speaking of, and had nothing less gray than her past to look forward to ; so that her f eeLng to ward the girl was touched with bitter ness, like some poor fruit half-spoilt by frost before It has been given a chance to ripen. Somehow she often found her self watching the "beauty of the school" with scarcely acknowledged suspicion, as if waiting, almost hoping, fur some un tttractive trait to develop. f To-day, although Cissy was going away. ¦o soon, was no exception to tne rule. Bho knew that only nature's hand' had painted the piquante, sparkling face, with blstnc db perle and vividly contrasting rose, or darkened the curling lashes and the penciled arch of brow which, gave so •haunting an expression to the. hazel eyes; the was aware that the young gold of th* girl's wavy hair had never known bleach, or dye, or curling contrivances; but as she saw how every one looked' at her cnarge, scarcely resisting a temptation to siare, she could not help hoping in her starved, ¦pinster heart that those people thought the girl owed' her charms to artificial tueans. "She is really,*oo striking," Miss Morley said to herself. "She ought to dress more pla'nly ana wear a veil. Why, even at the window/ there's somebody staring in at her." £ As the ch&peron made this discovery she frowned at the big*; plate-glass window a few feet distant, -wishing that she had placed the party Partner away form it; but it was too late to think of thaj. now. And so intently. was the obnoxious some body gazing at the girl In gray cloth, with k gray "picture** hat. that the magnetism 4f Miss Money's frown failed to take ef fect upon him,' The mystery was why she had ever come to the school at all; for she had been nearly 18 when she arrived a year ago, older than any of the other pupils, and she had been apparently "finished" already by a governess at home. She was a great heiress, altogether' a much more Important young person than the rest of her companions,, and was not at all the •ort of girl who Is usually sent to a boarding school— even so eminently -'se lect" a one as Mrs. D'JEsterre's. She had appeared suddenly and Miss Morley, who was a resident teacher of several lower branches and chaperon to the girls in most of their daytime expe ditions, had never heard va reason as signed for Cecily Grant's coming, nor had one been assigned now for her going. All that anybody, not excepting those high In authority at Ashburton House, knew about the matter was that after next Monday the most beautiful face ever seen there would be seen no more. This was Cecily's special day. It was Saturday, and on Monday she was to. bid good-by to Mrs. D'Esterre's school. To be sure, It was nearly Christmas time, and on the next Thursday all the girls would be leaving for the holidavs. But Cissy was going with her father's frienti and hers. Lady Stanton, in advance of the others, and she was never coming back. That was the reason why she had been allowed the privilege of giving a "fare well tea" td the girls (there were only ten) at this favorite place on Bond street. Cecily Grant was really embarrassing ly pretty.- from the chaperon's point of view. Every one In the tearoom was look ing at her, and It was always so wherever ¦he went. Miss Morley. sipping her tea, which was very hot and made her nose red. wondered whether Cissy ¦ was con •cious that she was the center of attrac tion. A man. seeing 1 the girl laughing and talking with her friends, would in stantly have decided that she was not; but women know each other's little sub tleties, and Miss Morley was not so posi- WHAT NELLA KYNASTON OVER- HEARD AT NO MAN'S. Copyright. 1902. by The National Presa Asency. CHAPTER L "Alice of Old Vincennes," Maurice Thompson's greatest work; "When Knighthood "Was in Flower," the strongest story Charles Majors ever wrote; "The Autocrats," by C. K. Lush, a popular tale of to-day; "The Leopard's Spots," by Thomas IWxon 3"r., a book on the race problem that has been the sensation of the season, etc., etc. Stark the books that are to follow: This is only the beginning in The Call's great fiction list that will be offered to its readers. The first book published wss "Nore But the. Brave"; then came "La sarre" — both extremely popular books —and now comes "The Mystery Box," a strikingly dramatic novel that will hold yoar attention from start to fin ish. This publishing of complete novels tn two, or at the most three, issues of a newspaper, works a revolution in the matter of giving the public the beat literature at a minimum price; moreover it do«s away with that ex asperating delay so tantalizing to the reader of serial fiction where the ¦tory is dragged along from week to week and month to month. TtilS issue of The Sunday o marks the publication of th third novel in the series of standard books of up-to-date fiction. In this edition is published the first half of one of the most thrillingly in teresting books of the day, "The Mys tery Box." Next Sunday the second half of the story will be given, there by completing the book in two issues and making it possible for readeis to obtain one of the best books of the day for 10 cents. THE MYSTERY BOX