to sign up."

"Eh?" says Old Hickory, starin'. "And you played him off against Matt.
Dowd? You impertinent young rascal! But I say, Robert, you should have
seen and heard 'em. It was rich. They nearly talked each other to a
standstill."

"Then I gather, Torchy," says Mr. Robert, grinnin', "that the king of
book agents now sits on a tottering throne. In other words, the wizard
met a master mind, eh?"

"I dunno," says I. "Guess I gave him the shunt, all right. Just by luck,
though. He had a clever act, I'll say, even if he didn't get it
across."

CHAPTER XV

STANLEY TAKES THE JAZZ CURE

I remember how thrilled Vee gets when she first discovers that these new
people in Honeysuckle Lodge are old friends of hers. I expect some
poetical real estater wished that name on it. Anyway, it's the proper
thing out here in Harbor Hills to call your place after some sort of
shrubbery or tree. And maybe this little stone cottage effect with the
green tiled roof and the fieldstone gate posts did have some honeysuckle
growin' around somewhere. It's a nice enough shack, what there is of it,
though if I'd been layin' out the floor plan I'd have had less cut-under
front porch and more elbow room inside. However, as there are only two
of the Rawsons it looked like it would do. That is, it did at first.

"Just think, Torchy," says Vee. "I haven't seen Marge since we were at
boarding school together. Why, I didn't even know she was married,
although I suppose she must be by this time."

"Well, she seems to have found a male of the species without your help,"
says I. "Looks like a perfectly good man, too."

"Oh, I'm sure he must be," says Vee, "or Marge wouldn't have had him. In
fact, I know he is, for I used to hear more or less about Stanley
Rawson, even when we were juniors. I believe they were half engaged
then. Such a jolly, lively fellow, and so full of fun. Won't it be nice
having them so near?"

"Uh-huh!" says I.

Not that we've been lonesome since we moved out on our four-acre Long
Island estate, but I will say that young married couples of about our
own age haven't been so plenty. Not the real folksy kind. Course, there
are the Cecil Rands, but they don't do much but run a day and night
nursery for those twins of theirs. They're reg'lar Class A twins, too,
and I expect some day they'll be more or less interestin'; but after
they've been officially exhibited to you four or five times, and you've
heard all about t