ell. "I did not feel sure as to
just where you did mean her to bring up. You will perhaps allow me to
remark that making a night of it with Aunt Mary in tow is a subject that
really is provocative of mature reflection. Making a night of it is a
frothy sort of a proposition in which our beloved aunty may not beat up to
quite the buoyancy of you and me."

As he finished this sage remark they all re-entered the library and
grouped themselves around the table of smoking things.

"That's what I say," said Jack. "I think she's much more likely to beat
out than to beat up--I must say."

"I'll bet you she doesn't," cried Burnett eagerly. "I'll bet five dollars
that she doesn't."

"I declare," said Clover, "what a thing a backer is to be sure. I feel
positive that Aunt Mary will go through with it now. I had my doubts
before, but never now. Six to five on Aunt Mary for the Three-year-old
Stakes."

"The best way is to hit a happy medium," said Mitchell thoughtfully,
scratching a match for the lighting of his new-rolled cigarette. "I think
the wisest thing would be for us just to take Aunt Mary and sally forth
and then keep it up until she must be put to bed. What say?"

"Well," said Jack, reflectively, "I don't suppose that taking it that way,
it would really be any worse than the other nights--"

"Worse!" cried Clover. "Hear him!--slandering those brilliant occasions,
everyone of which is a jewel in the crown of Aunt Mary's bonnet."

"We'll begin by dining out," said Burnett. "I'll give the dinner. One of
the souvenir kind of affairs. A white mouse for every man and a canary
bird for the lady. We'll have a private room and speeches and I'll get
megaphones so we can make her hear without bustin'."

"My dear boy," said Mitchell, "where is this private room to be in which
the party can converse through megaphones? I had two deaf uncles once who
played cribbage with megaphones, but they were influential and the rest of
the family were poor. Circumstances alter cases. I ask again where you can
get a private dining-room for the use of five people and four megaphones?"

"I'll see," said Burnett; "I wish," he added irritably, "that you'd wait
until I finished before beginning to smash in like that, you knock
everything out of my head."

"It'll do you good to have a little something knocked out of you," said
Mitchell gently. "It may enlarge your premises, give you a spare room
somewhere, so to speak. I should think that you'd