es to
_me_!"

She was now really crying into her handkerchief. Everything in the two
drawing-rooms seemed in one great ferment of excitement. On all sides,
there were quick, hushed conversations, whispered words, nervous glances
among the brothers and sisters and their juniors, the nephews and
nieces; not a single quiet group had been formed; the card-tables
remained untouched; and there was no one at the table in the
conservatory where the children's round games were played.

"Herman!" Mamma called out, almost querulously. "Aren't you going to
start a rubber?"

"Yes, do come along!" said Auntie Lot to Ruyvenaer, "_Ajo_,[26] shall we
have a game? Come on, who's going to play?... You, Saetzema? Come along
... Toetie? Come along. Cut for partners.... Come, Paul ... Do!"

"No, Aunt, I won't play, thanks."

"Oh, it's difficult this evening!" said Auntie. "Van Naghel and Bertha
not yet here, eh? Come on.... _Ajo_ now, let's play! Ah, there are Karel
and Cateau! Why are you so late, eh?... _Ajo_ then, cut for partners ...
let's have a rubber!"

And Auntie at once enlisted Karel and Cateau, refused to let them go,
forced matters, insisted on having a nice, quiet, friendly rubber, as at
all the usual "family-groups." But Cateau at once noticed the excitement
infecting everybody in both the big rooms with restlessness and,
catching sight of Adolphine, she managed, before cutting, to escape
Auntie Lot and ask:

"Why, Adolph-ine, what are you cry-ing for? Are you up-set about
any-thing?"

"The hound! The cad! And he wants to challenge my husband in addition!"

"Chal-lenge him?" cried the terrified Cateau. "A reg-u-lar du-el! No!
The bro-thers and sis-ters will nev-er consent to _that!_ There's too
much been talked and _writ-ten_ about the family as it _is_!" she
whispered. "Writ-ten and _print-ed_!"

And Cateau's whining words bore evidence to the tragic alarm that
fluttered through her sleek, broad-bosomed respectability, while her
owl's eyes opened rounder and wider than ever.

But Auntie Lot came to fetch Cateau and dragged her by the arm to the
card-table. The rubber was made up: Auntie, Karel, Cateau and Toetie.
But they none of them paid attention to their cards, which fell on the
table, one after the other, without the least effort of intelligence on
the part of the players, as though obeying the laws of some weird and
fantastic game of bridge.... Auntie was constantly trying to ruff with
spades though clubs