tooth plugged, or if it was a case of a
mouse bein' loose at a tea party. Course, the squeals and giggles I
could place as comin' from Miss Marjorie Ellins. Maybe you remember
about Mr. Robert's heavyweight young sister that wanted to play Juliet
once?

But who the other party was I didn't have an idea, except that from the
"you-alls" she was usin' I knew she must hail from somewhere south of
Baltimore.

Anyway, they seemed to be too much excited to sit down while they
talked, and the first thing I knew they'd drifted into the lib'ry, their
arms twined around each other in a reg'lar schoolgirl clinch, and the
conversation just bubblin' out of 'em free.

Miss Marjorie was all got up classy in pink and white, and she sure does
look like a wide, corn fed Venus. The other is a slim, willowy young
lady with a lot of home grown blond hair, a cute chin dimple, and a pair
of big dark eyes with a natural rovin' disposition. And she's hobble
skirted to the point where her feet was about as much use as if they'd
been tied in a bag.

It was some kind of a long winded story she was tellin' very
confidential, with Marjorie supplyin' the exclamation points.

"Really, now, was he, Mildred?" says Marjorie.

"'Deed and 'deedy, he was!" says Mildred. "Positively the handsomest man
I ever saw! I thought I could forget him; but I couldn't, Madge, I
couldn't! And only think, he is coming this very night, and not a soul
knows but just us two!"

"Excuse me," says I; "but I'm Number Three."

"Oh, oh!" they both squeals at once.

"Who--who's that?" whispers Mildred.

"Why it's only Torchy, from Papa's office," says Marjorie. "And oh,
Mildred! He is the very one to help us! You will now, won't you, Torchy?
Come, that's a dear!"

"Please do, Torchy!" says Mildred, snugglin' up on the other side and
pattin' my red hair soothin'.

"Ah, say, reverse English on the tootsy business!" says I. "This ain't
any heart-throb matinee. G'wan!"

"Why, Torchy!" says Marjorie, real coaxin' "I thought we were such good
friends!"

"Well, I'm willin' to let it go that far," says I; "but don't try to
ring in any folksy strangers. I'm here on business for the firm."

Just then too down comes the maid sayin' there wa'n't anything to go
back; so I starts to beat it.

I didn't get far, though, with a hundred and ninety pound young lady
blockin' the doorway.

"Torchy, you must help us!" says Marjorie. "There isn't anyone else we
can ask. And you'r