from one to the other, would have been conscious of
storms. I took her hand.

"My dear Liosha," said I, "our social system is so complicated that it
is no wonder you don't appreciate the more delicate ramifications--"

"Oh! Talk sense to her," growled Jaffery.

"Mr. Fendihook is not quite"--I hesitated--"not quite the kind of
person, my dear, that we're accustomed to meet."

"I know," said Liosha, "you want them all stamped out in a pattern, like
little tin soldiers."

"I see the point of your criticism, and it's true, as far as it goes."

"Oh, go on--" Jaffery interrupted.

"But--" I continued.

"You'd rather not see him again?"

"No," roared Jaffery.

"I'm talking to Hilary, not you," said Liosha. She turned to me. "You
and Barbara would like me to take him away right now?"

I still held her hand, which was growing moist--and I suppose mine was
too--and I didn't like to drop it, for fear of hurting her feelings. I
gave it a great squeeze. It was very difficult for me. Personally, I
enjoyed the frank, untrammelled and prodigiously accomplished scion of a
vulgar race. As a mere bachelor, isolated human, meeting him, I should
have taken him joyously, if not to my heart, at any rate to my
microscope and studied him and savoured him and got out of him all that
there was of grotesqueness. But to every one of my household, save Susan
who did not count, he was--I admit, deservedly--an object of loathing.
So I squeezed Liosha's hand.

"The beginning and end of the matter, my dear," said I, "is that he's
not quite a gentleman."

"All right," said Liosha, liberating herself. "Now I know."

She left me and sailed to the terrace. I use the metaphor advisedly. She
had a way of walking like a full-rigged ship before a breeze.

"Ras Fendihook, it's time we were going."

Mr. Fendihook looked at his watch and jumped up.

"We must hook it!"

Barbara asked conventionally: "Won't you stay to supper?"

"Great Scott, no!" he exclaimed. "No offence meant. You're very kind.
But it's Ladies' Night at the Rabbits and I'm Buck Rabbit for the
evening and the Queen of Sheba's coming as my guest."

"Who are the Rabbits?" asked Doria.

Even I had heard of this Bohemian confraternity; and I explained with a
learned inaccuracy that evoked a semi-circular grin on the pink, fleshy
face of Mr. Ras Fendihook.

* * * * *

"Ouf! Thank goodness!" said Barbara as the two-seater scuttered away
down t