n they
goes out to lunch together, and at two-thirty they comes back. It's
after four when Mr. Robert fin'lly comes out to the gate with his brow
wrinkled up.

"Torchy," says he, "how is your bump of diplomacy today?"

"It's a dimple, I expect," says I.

"You're entirely too modest," says he. "Now, I remember several
occasions when you have----"

"Oh, I gen'rally have my nerve with me, if that's what you mean," says
I.

"But I don't mean that," says he. "Perhaps finesse is the better word."

"It's all the same to me," says I. "If I've got it in stock, it's
yours. What do I work it on?"

"Mr. Higgins," says he.

"Then score up a goose egg in advance," says I. "It would take a
strong-arm hypnotizer to put the spell on Ira."

Mr. Robert grins. "Then you have already tested Mr. Higgins'
conversational powers?" says he.

"Almost lost my voice gettin' him to say good mornin'," says I. "Say,
you'd think he'd done all his talkin' by cable, at a dollar a word.
Where'd he drift in from, anyway?"

"Boothbay Harbor," says Mr. Robert.

"Is that a foreign country," says I, "or a nickname for some flag
station?"

"It's quite a lively little seaport, I believe," says Mr. Robert, "up
on the coast of Maine."

"Oh, Maine!" says I. "Up there they're willin' to call a town anything
that'll get a laugh. But what's the rest of the scandal?"

It wasn't any thrillin' tale, though. Seems Mr. Robert had gone into
the yachtin' regattas as usual this last summer; but, instead of
liftin' the mugs, as he'd been in the habit of doin', he'd been beat
out by a new entry,--beat bad too. But he wouldn't be an Ellins if he
let it go at that. Not much! His first move is to find out who built
the Stingaree, and his next is to wire in an order to the same firm to
turn out a sixty-footer that'll go her just one better. Not gettin'
any straight answer to that, he sends word for the head of the yacht
works to come on at his expense. Mr. Higgins is the result.

"But the deuce of it is," says Mr. Robert, "that, while I'm convinced
he is the cleverest designer of racing yawls that we have in the whole
country, and while he admits quite cheerfully that he can improve on
this year's model, I can't get him to say positively that he will build
such a boat for me."

"Yes, I should expect that would be more'n he'd let go of all in one
day," says I.

"But, confound it all!" says Mr. Robert, "I want to know now. All I
can get out