s noise. Isn't it a fool party?"

"I'm afraid it really is."

"What's the purpose of it, anyway? Do the people have to come here and
breathe this air, I wonder? I asked several people that, and I'm
afraid they think I'm crazy."

"But you are here? Do you come to Mrs. Salisbury's often?"

"Never been before. Never seen a person here in my life before--except
you and Miss Olive. Came on a bet. Chap bet I wouldn't dare come
without being invited. I came. Bowed to the hostess and told her I was
so sorry my play-rehearsals made me late, and she was _so_ glad I
could come, _after all_--you know. She's never seen me in her life."

"Oh? Are you a dramatist?"

"I was--in the other room. But I was a doctor out in the hall and a
sculptor on the stairs, so I'm getting sort of confused myself--as
confused as you are, trying to remember who I am, Miss Winslow. You
really don't remember me at all? Tea at--wasn't it at the Vanderbilt?
or the Plaza?"

"Oh yes, that must have been----I was trying to remember----"

Carl grinned. "The chap who introduced me to you called me 'Mr.
Um-m-m,' because he didn't remember my name, either. So you've never
heard it. It happens to be Ericson.... I'm on a mission. Serious one.
I'm planning to go out and buy a medium-sized bomb and blow up this
bunch. I suspect there's poets around."

"I do too," sighed Ruth. "I understand that Mrs. Salisbury always has
seven lawyers and nineteen advertising men and a dentist and a poet
and an explorer at her affairs. Are you the poet or the explorer?"

"I'm the dentist. I think----You don't happen to have done any
authoring, do you?"

"Well, nothing except an epic poyem on Jonah and the Whale, which I
wrote at the age of seven. Most of it consisted of a conversation
between them, while Jonah was in the Whale's stomach, which I think
showed agility on the part of the Whale."

"Then maybe it's safe to say what I think of authors--and more or less
of poets and painters and so on. One time I was in charge of some
mechanical investigations, and a lot of writers used to come around
looking for what they called 'copy.' That's where I first got my
grouch on them, and I've never really got over it; and coming here
to-night and hearing the littery talk I've been thinking how these
authors have a sort of an admiration trust. They make authors the
heroes of their stories and so on, and so they make people think that
writing is sacred. I'm so sick of reading novels