uld."

Mrs. Vickers's utter astonishment next evening, when her husband asked
her to go for a walk, irritated that gentleman almost beyond endurance.
Convinced at last that he was not joking, she went upstairs and put on
her bonnet, and then stood waiting for the reluctant Mr. Vickers with an
air of almost bashful diffidence.

"Joseph is coming in soon," said Selina, as her parents moved to the
door. "I'm expecting him every minute."

"I'll stop and see 'im," said Mr. Russell. "There's something I want to
speak to him about partikler."

Mr. Vickers gave a warning glance at him as he went out, and trembled as
he noted his determined aspect. In a state of considerable agitation he
took hold of his wife by the elbow and propelled her along.

It was a cold night, and a strong easterly wind had driven nearly
everybody else indoors. Mr. Vickers shivered, and, moving at a good
pace, muttered something to his astonished wife about "a good country
walk." They quitted the streets and plunged into dark lanes until, in
Mr. Vickers's judgment, sufficient time having elapsed for the worst to
have happened, they turned and made their way to the town again.

"There's somebody outside our house," said Mrs. Vickers, who had been in
a state of amazed discomfort the whole time.

Mr. Vickers approached warily. Two people were on the doorstep in the
attitude of listeners, while a third was making strenuous attempts to
peep through at the side of the window-blind. From inside came the sound
of voices raised in dispute, that of Selina's being easily
distinguishable.

"What--what's all this?" demanded Mr. Vickers, in trembling tones, as he
followed his wife inside and closed the door.

He glanced from Selina, who was standing in front of Mr. Tasker in the
manner of a small hen defending an overgrown chicken, to Mr. Russell, who
was towering above them and trying to reach him.

[Illustration: "Selina was standing in front of Mr. Tasker in the manner
of a small hen defending an overgrown chicken."]

"What's all this?" he repeated, with an attempt at pomposity.

The disputants all spoke at once: Mr. Russell with an air of jocular
ferocity, Miss Vickers in a voice that trembled with passion, and Mr.
Tasker speaking as a man with a grievance. Despite the confusion, Mr.
Vickers soon learned that it was a case of "two's company and three's
none," and that Mr. Russell, after turning a deaf ear to hints to retire
which had graduall