glory. She felt that at last she was in touch with the real thing.
Daniel, sandwiched between Annete and Mrs. Lake, was not as happy. The
necessity of forgetting his clothes and remembering his grammar was
a heavy burden. His conversation was limited to "Yes" and "No" and "I
shouldn't wonder," and after a time the ladies ceased in their efforts
to make him talk and carried on an animated dialogue across his shirt
front.

After dinner there was music and bridge. Daniel was fond of music, but
most of the songs, sung by a thin young lady with a great deal of hair
and a decollete gown, were in a language which he did not understand,
and the piano solos seemed to him to be made up of noise and gymnastics
with very little melody. He watched Serena, however, who, in turn, was
watching Mrs. Lake and the rest; when they applauded, she applauded and
the captain followed suit.

Bridge was an unknown quantity to both of them, and they sat and looked
on while Mrs. Black made it "without" and found fault with her partner
when they lost. The thin young lady, who had obliged with the vocal
selections, asked the captain if he played "nullos." Daniel, who was not
sure whether "nullos" was a musical instrument or a game, replied that
he wasn't sure, but he didn't think he did; after which he retired into
the corner to avoid further questioning.

They reached home about two o'clock, and the captain fell sound asleep
in the taxi and had to be shaken into consciousness when the machine
reached the Dott door.

"My soul, Serena," he said, when they were upstairs in the bedroom,
"don't those folks ever go to bed? There was stuff enough to eat at
that dinner to last the average family through three meals. Time I had
finished the ice cream I was ready to curl up like a cat in front of the
fire; but the rest of them seemed to be just startin' in to be lively.
Are we goin' to keep this up very long? If we are, I'll have to sleep in
the daytime, like a fo'mast hand on night lookout."

"But wasn't it splendid?" explained his wife. "Weren't they cultivated,
brilliant people? You and I never went to anything like THAT dinner
before, Daniel Dott."

The captain admitted that they never did. "Could you make anything out
of that game they were playin'?" he asked. "What was it they called it?"

"Bridge. No, I couldn't, but I'm going to. I'm going to learn it just as
soon as I can. Mrs. Black says everybody plays it now."

Her husband chuckled. "Th