with the cut on your chin. I wish one of you'd
always cut your chin shaving, one would know you from the other. Any
cold eel-pie?"

"Rather not," said the Twin addressed.

"Have some lobster?" I said, despairingly. If no one was going to take
eel-pie, it was certain my other provisions would not last round. Why
hadn't I taken Mrs Nash's advice, and had that unlucky dish hot?

"What will you take?" I said to Flanagan.

"Oh, I don't mind," replied he, in a resigned manner; "I'll take a
shrimp or two."

"Have something more than that. Have some lobster?" I said.

"No, thanks," he replied.

Evidently my good things were not in favour; why, I could not say.
Nobody seemed to be taking anything, and Crow was most conspicuously
_smelling_ my lobster.

The meal dragged on heavily, with more talk than eating. Every dish
came in for its share of criticism; the eel-pie remained uncut, the
lobster had lost one claw, but more than half the contents of that was
left on Abel's plate. My penny buns all vanished, that was one ray of
comfort.

"Ring the bell for more buns," said Doubleday, as if he was presiding at
his own table.

What was I to do? There were no more, and it was hardly likely Mrs
Nash would go for more. Before I could make up my mind, Whipcord had
rung a loud peal on the bell, and Mrs Nash in due time appeared.

"More buns, and look sharp, old woman," said Doubleday.

"I'll old woman you if I've much of your imperence, my young dandy!" was
the somewhat startling rejoinder. "I'll bundle the pack of you out of
the house, that I will, if you can't keep a civil tongue in your heads."

"I say, Batchelor," said Doubleday, laughing, "your aunt has got a
temper, I fancy. I'm always sorry to see it in one so young. What will
it be when--"

"Oh, please don't, Doubleday," I said; "you can see she doesn't like it.
It doesn't matter, Mrs Nash, thank you," I added.

"Oh, don't it matter?" retorted the irate Mrs Nash, "that's all; we'll
settle that pretty soon, my beauty. I'll teach you if it don't matter
that a pack of puppies comes into my house, and drinks tea out of my
cups, and calls me names before my face and behind my back; I'll teach
you!" And she bounced from the room.

I thought that meal would never end, although no one took anything. In
time even the fun and laughter, which had at first helped to keep the
thing going, died away, and the fellows lolled back in the chairs in a
listless,