xation suitable to twenty when he saw with what enthusiasm the
Twinklers flew to meet them. They behaved, thought Mr. Ridding crossly,
as if they were the oldest and dearest friends.

"Who are they?" he asked curtly of Mr. Twist, cutting into the long
things he was saying.

"Only the different experts who helped me rebuild the place," said Mr.
Twist a little impatiently; he too had pricked up his ears in
expectation at the sound of all those feet, and was disappointed.

He continued what Mr. Ridding, watching the group of young people,
called sulkily to himself his rigmarole, but continued more
abstractedly. He also was watching the Annas and the experts. The young
men were evidently in the highest spirits, and were walking round the
Annas admiring their get-up and expressing their admiration in laughter
and exclamations. One would have thought they had known each other all
their lives. The twins were wreathed in smiles. They looked as pleased,
Mr. Twist thought, as cats that are being stroked. Almost he could hear
them purring. He glanced helplessly across to where Mrs. Bilton sat, as
he had told her, bent pen in hand over the ledger. She didn't move. It
was true he had told her to sit like that, but hadn't the woman any
imagination? What she ought to do now was to bustle forward and take
that laughing group in charge.

"As I was telling you--" resumed Mr. Twist, returning with an effort to
Mr. Ridding, only to find his eyes fixed on the young people and catch
an unmistakably thwarted look in his face.

In a flash Mr. Twist realized what he had come for,--it was solely to
see and talk to the twins. He must have noticed them at the
Cosmopolitan, and come out just for them. Just for that. "Unprincipled
old scoundrel," said Mr. Twist under his breath, his ears flaming. Aloud
he said, "As I was telling you--" and went on distractedly with his
rigmarole.

Then some more people came in. They had motored, but the noise the
experts were making had drowned the sound of their arrival. Mr. Ridding
and Mr. Twist, both occupied in glowering at the group in the middle of
the room, were made aware of their presence by Anna-Felicitas suddenly
dropping the pencil and tablets she had been provided with for writing
down orders and taking an uncertain and obviously timid step forward.

They both looked round in the direction of her reluctant step, and saw
a man and two women standing on the threshold. Mr. Twist, of course,
didn't