She gives me a punch and smothers a snicker, "Don't let Cousin Eulalia
hear you say such a thing," says she.

We only had a minute; but from what she manages to whisper durin' the
general chatter I makes out that this is a little scheme Eulalia'd
planned to sort of launch Vee into the younger set. She's from
Atlanta, Cousin Eulalia is, one of the best fam'lies, and kind of a
perennial society belle that's tinkled through quite some seasons, but
refuses to quit. Just now she's spendin' a month with Fifth-ave.
friends, and has just discovered that Vee and her are close connected
through a step-uncle marryin' a half-sister of Eulalia's
brother-in-law, or something like that. Anyhow, she insists on the
cousin racket, and has started right in to rush Vee to the front.

She's some rasher, Eulalia is, too. No twenty-minutes-to-or-after
silences while she's conductin' affairs. Course, it's kind of frothy
stuff to pass for conversation; but it bubbles out constant, and she
blows it around impartial. Her idea of giving Cousin Vee a perfectly
good time seems to be to have us all grouped around that windowseat and
take turns shootin' over puffs of hot air; sort of a taffy-throwin'
competition, you know, with Vee as the mark.

But Vee don't seem tickled to death over it. She ain't fussed exactly,
as Eulalia rounds us up in a half-circle; but she colors up a little
and acts kind of bored. She's some picture, though. M-m-m-m! And it
was worth while bein' one of a mob, just to stand there watchin' her.

I expect the young college hicks felt a good deal the same about it as
me, even if they was havin' hard work diggin' up appropriate remarks
when Eulalia swings the arrow so it points to them. Anyway, they does
their best to come up with the polite jolly, and nobody makes a break
to quit.

It's durin' the tea and sandwich scramble, though, that Cousin Eulalia
gets her happy hunch. Seems that Sappy Westlake has come forward with
an invite to a box party just as Vee is tryin' to make up her mind
whether she'll go with Teddy Braden to some cotillion capers, or accept
a dinner dance bid from one of the other young gents.

"And all for Wednesday night!" says she. "How stupid of you, with the
week so long!"

"But I'd planned this box party especially for you," protests Sappy.

"Oh, give someone else a chance, Westlake," cuts in Reggy. "That's the
night of our frat dance, and I want to ask Miss Vee if----"

"What's this