not
the less taunts because they were true.

If the violent scenes which occur in ill-tempered families _felt_ half
as undignified and miserable as they _look_, surely they would be less
common! I believe Philip and Alice would have come to blows if I had
not joined with him to expel her from the room. I was not happy about
it, for my sympathy was on her side of the quarrel, but she had been
the one to declare war, and I could not control Philip. In short, it
is often not easy to keep the peace and be just too, as I should like
to have said to Aunt Isobel, if she had been at home. But she was to
be away until the 6th.

Alice defeated, I took Philip seriously to task. Not about his
friend--the subject was too sore, and Alice had told him all that we
thought, and rather more than we thought on that score--but about the
theatricals. I said if he really was tired of the business we would
throw it up, and let our friends know that the proposed entertainment
had fallen through, but that if he wanted it to go forward he must
decide what help he would give, and then abide by his promise.

We came to terms. If I would let him have a day or two's fun with his
gun, Philip promised to "spurt," as he called it, at the end. I told
him we would be content if he would join in a "thorough rehearsal,"
the afternoon before, and devote himself to the business on the day of
the performance.

"Real business, you know," I added, "with nobody but ourselves. Nobody
coming in to interrupt."

"Of course," said Philip; "but I'll do more than that, Isobel. There's
the scene--"

"_We'll_ finish the scene," said I, "if you don't aggravate Alice so
that I lose her help as well as yours."

Alice was very sulky, which I could hardly wonder at, and I worked
alone, except for Bobby, the only one with anything like a good temper
among us, who roasted himself very patiently with my size-pot, and
hammered bits of ivy, and of his fingers, rather neatly over the cave.
But Alice was impulsive and kind-hearted. When I got a bad headache,
from working too long, she came round, and helped me. Philip was
always going to do so, but as a matter of fact he went out every day
with the old fowling-piece for which he had given his dressing case.

When the ice bore Charles also deserted us, but Alice and I worked
steadily on at dresses and scenery. And Bobby worked with us.

The 5th of January arrived, the day before the theatricals. Philip
spent the morning