amily will
hold their conclave if each of them waits until all the others are
together?"

"I hope so," replied Johnny. "I'll make some money if they do."

"How rude!" expostulated Courtney with a laugh. "Business at a week-end
house-party!"

"Business is right," confessed Johnny. "They admit that you run the
best private exchange in America out here."

Courtney, enjoying that remark, laughed heartily.

"I'm glad they give me credit," he acknowledged. "Well, help yourself
to all the facilities. Where are you going?"

"Library porch," answered Johnny promptly. "Excuse me, I'm in a hurry."

Constance Joy was not on the library porch. Instead, Johnny found there
Polly Parsons and her adopted sister Winnie, Ashley Loring and Sammy
Chirp. This being almost a family party for Johnny, he had no
hesitation in asking bluntly for Constance.

"This is her morning for Wobbling," returned Polly disdainfully. "A
while ago she was dodging the perfectly careless compliments of old
Tommy and trying not to see that his toupee was on crooked; and now
she's down toward the ravine some place, watching young Cecil stumble.
You could make yourself a very solid Johnny by trotting right down
there and breaking up the party."

"I think I'd rather have a messenger for that," calculated Johnny. "His
brothers wish to see Cecil up in the east loggia."

"Sammy will go," offered Winnie confidently; whereat Sammy, smiling
affably, promptly rose.

"Go with him, Winnie," ordered Polly. "Trot on now, both of you. I want
to talk sense."

Quite cheerfully Winnie gave Sammy her fan, her parasol, her vanity
box, her novel, her box of chocolates and her hat, stuffed a
handkerchief in his pocket and said: "Come on, Sammy; I'm ready."

"Constance showed me that schedule last night, Johnny," rattled Polly.
"You ought to see it, Loring. On Wednesday, at four o'clock, he was
exactly even with it; five hundred thousand dollars to the good."

"I know," laughed Loring, "and he'll beat his schedule if the Wobbleses
will only hold steady for ten minutes."

"You don't mean to say that a Wobbles could be useful!" protested Polly.

"Half a million dollars' worth," Loring informed her; then he drew his
chair closer and lowered his voice. "It's a funny story, Polly. Two
weeks ago Johnny took Courtney and Close and Washer and Colonel Bouncer
up to the Bronx in my machine and arranged to sell them a subdivision
for three and a half million dollars."

"Help