e pondered upon the matter while he was eating
his pudding, and it rendered him inattentive to Theodora's views on the
origin of totem poles. Theodora saw his inattention, and, with the tact
of the true hostess, she promptly changed the subject to one which should
be less ponderous and more interesting. Leaving the totem poles, she
began to talk of Quantuck and the vagaries of Mac. Quantuck proved to be
an old vacation ground for Mr. Gilwyn, and he and Billy vied with each
other in stories of the days when golf links were not, and the post
office was still of the peripatetic variety, while Cicely kept close
guard on her lips, lest she should involuntarily be drawn into adding her
share to the conversation. Then all at once, Billy fell from grace, even
as Theodora had done.

"Oh, Cis, old girl," he said jovially; "wake up and bring me some
more coffee."

This time, Mr. Gilwyn's lower jaw dropped in amazement. There was a
sudden awful silence, while, behind the guest's chair, Cicely's shoulders
were shaking. In her mind, Theodora rapidly summed up the situation and
judged it best to make a clean breast of the whole matter. Mr. Gilwyn
looked as if his sense of humor were somewhat deficient; but he was a
married man, and it was barely possible that his wife had not always
escaped from similar experiences. Accordingly, she put on her most
brilliant smile and leaned forward slightly in her chair.

"Mr. Gilwyn,"--she was beginning.

"Grrrrr! Grrrrr! Grrrrr! Woo--woo--woof!"

There was a sudden patter of tiny feet, a scamper, a rush, a succession
of ecstatic little growls followed by a still more ecstatic yelp of
rapture and glee. Melchisedek had emerged from his temporary retirement
and come prancing upon the scene. He bore something in his mouth,
something long and flexible and brown; and he danced up and down the
room, worrying it and growling, worrying it again and yelping. Unhappily
Mr. Gilwyn disliked small dogs, especially small dogs of frisky habits,
and he showed his dislike quite frankly.

"Cicely, can you catch him?" Theodora demanded.

Dropping her tray into the nearest chair, Cicely made a snatch at
Melchisedek as he shot past her. He eluded her, and, happy that at last
he was to have a companion in his sport, he took refuge under Mr.
Gilwyn's chair where he mounted guard over his plaything and snarled
invitingly whenever Cicely tried to seize him. The situation reacted upon
the nerves of the guest and caus