g as I can; my little maid at home
used to sing that to me. But, look here," he added, as Lance closed the
instrument, "if you wish to be on good terms with the men after I am
gone, have them all up in the meeting-room sometimes of an evening, and
treat them to a little music; they will appreciate that, and you could
do nothing more likely to win their regard. Why shouldn't you give
'em--give us all--a concert to-night, to-day being a holiday?"

Lance hesitated for a moment before making answer to this strange and
unexpected proposal.

"To tell you the truth," he said at last, "I am afraid your people will
be hardly in a mood to-night to appreciate such music as I could give
them; the grog will have got into their heads, and they will be more
inclined to sing among themselves than to sit quietly to listen to me."

"Not at all," answered Johnson, who, now that a serious mood was upon
him, had entirely dropped his Americanism of speech, "not at all; I have
taken care to give orders that they shall not have sufficient to make
them noisy. You will find them perfectly quiet and orderly, and I
confess I should like to see the effect of a little genuine good music
upon them."

"Very well," answered Lance nonchalantly, "I am sure I have no
objection; and, now that you have mentioned it, I confess I feel curious
to see the result of so novel an experiment."

"Then it is settled," said Johnson; and he forthwith summoned a party of
men, to some of whom he gave orders to remove to the hut the pianoforte
Lance had chosen, while to others was deputed the task of taking one of
the other instruments into the large room used for purposes of general
assembly, and placing the room in proper order for the evening's
entertainment, which was fixed to commence at the orthodox hour of eight
o'clock.

When Lance Evelin sauntered into the hut he was assailed by a general
chorus of questions.

"What ridiculous story is this which my husband has been telling us, Mr
Evelin?" inquired Mrs Staunton.

"About the piano, you know," added Violet.

"Is it actually true, Lance, that that absurd creature is really going
to let us have one?" chimed in Blanche.

"It would be a good deal more sensible of him if he would provide us
with more comfortable quarters," grumbled Dale.

"I agree with you there, Dale, it certainly would," said Rex Fortescue.
"Of course I am speaking now of the matter as it affects the ladies; for
ourselves, we can roug