ott.

"Josephine and Robert are admiring the night together!" she said,
smiling with subtle tenderness to him.

"Naturally! Young people always do these romantic things," replied Cyril
Scott. He was twenty-two years old, so he could afford to be cynical.

"Do they?--Don't you think it's nice of them?" she said, gently removing
her hand from his. His eyes were shining with pleasure.

"I do. I envy them enormously. One only needs to be sufficiently naive,"
he said.

"One does, doesn't one!" cooed Julia.

"I say, do you hear the bells?" said Robert, poking his head into the
room.

"No, dear! Do you?" replied Julia.

"Bells! Hear the bells! Bells!" exclaimed the half-tipsy and
self-conscious Jim. And he rolled in his chair in an explosion of
sudden, silent laughter, showing his mouthful of pointed teeth, like
a dog. Then he gradually gathered himself together, found his feet,
smiling fixedly.

"Pretty cool night!" he said aloud, when he felt the air on his almost
bald head. The darkness smelt of sulphur.

Josephine and Robert had moved out of sight. Julia was abstracted,
following them with her eyes. With almost supernatural keenness she
seemed to catch their voices from the distance.

"Yes, Josephine, WOULDN'T that be AWFULLY ROMANTIC!"--she suddenly
called shrilly.

The pair in the distance started.

"What--!" they heard Josephine's sharp exclamation.

"What's that?--What would be romantic?" said Jim as he lurched up and
caught hold of Cyril Scott's arm.

"Josephine wants to make a great illumination of the grounds of the
estate," said Julia, magniloquent.

"No--no--I didn't say it," remonstrated Josephine.

"What Josephine said," explained Robert, "was simply that it would be
pretty to put candles on one of the growing trees, instead of having a
Christmas-tree indoors."

"Oh, Josephine, how sweet of you!" cried Julia.

Cyril Scott giggled.

"Good egg! Champion idea, Josey, my lass. Eh? What--!" cried Jim. "Why
not carry it out--eh? Why not? Most attractive." He leaned forward over
Josephine, and grinned.

"Oh, no!" expostulated Josephine. "It all sounds so silly now. No. Let
us go indoors and go to bed."

"NO, Josephine dear--No! It's a LOVELY IDEA!" cried Julia. "Let's get
candles and lanterns and things--"

"Let's!" grinned Jim. "Let's, everybody--let's."

"Shall we really?" asked Robert. "Shall we illuminate one of the
fir-trees by the lawn?"

"Yes! How lovely!" cried Julia. "I'll fe