and fishing tackle. Now, we are in a
unique position. We have the advantage of being free from competition.
The hotels of New York are as thick as blackberries. They meet
competition in its fiercest form, yet the prices they charge are much
more per day than we charge for a month. I am determined that our prices
shall be equal to New York prices, but I think it is only fair to let
any customer know the fact before he is called upon to pay his bill."

"A very excellent arrangement," said Stranleigh, heartily, "and in my
case there will be an additional account for medical services. Will that
be on the basis of professional charges in London, New York, Vienna,
Berlin, or Lausanne?"

"Not on the basis of Lausanne, certainly, for there an excellent doctor
is contented with a fee of five francs, so if you don't object, I'll
convert francs into dollars."

"My admiration for your business capacity is waning, Miss Armstrong. If
this is to be an international matter, why choose your own country
instead of mine? Transpose your francs into pounds, Professor. There are
five francs in a dollar, but five dollars in a pound sterling. Let me
recommend to you my own currency."

"A very good idea, Mr. Stranleigh," rejoined Miss Armstrong, promptly.
"I shall at once take it into consideration, but I hope you won't be
shocked when the final round-up arrives."

"I shall have no excuse for astonishment, being so honestly forewarned,
and now that we are conversing so internationally, I'd like to carry it
a little further. In Italy they call an accident a 'disgrazia,' and when
you read in an Italian paper that a man is 'disgraced,' you realise that
he has met with an accident. Then the account ends by saying that the
patient is guaranteed curable in two days, or a week, or a month, as the
case may be. How long, then, doctor, must I rest under this 'disgrace'?"

"I should say a week, but that's merely an off-hand guess, as I suppose
is the case with the estimate of an Italian physician."

"I hope your orders won't be too strict. By the way, has my luggage
arrived?"

"It is all in the large room upstairs, but if you have any designs upon
it, you are disobeying orders."

"I must get at a portmanteau that is in one of the bundles."

"I will fetch what you want, so don't worry about that, but come and sit
on the verandah once more."

Stranleigh protested, and finally a compromise was arrived at. Miss
Armstrong would whistle for Jim, a