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her son, didn’t they? No, Alison, I won’t have you regretting it. You must see it would never do. I never took it seriously, only the first night I heard it I was nearly off my head, it felt so—humorous. There was I without a blessed cent—I’d cut it rather fine because I knew my glad-rags would fetch a fortune to a man in my position, so I hadn’t left myself even a cab-fare, and Billy Lister leaned on the bar and burbled details of the Trent property and income. . . . I wondered when I was going to wake. It was like one of those dreams in which you see the treasures of the world with nobody to keep you off them, but they’re all behind unbreakable crystal cases. So I bolted, and was glad of it. The Gold Coast was fun too———”

“You must tell me more—oh, Tony, listen! Is that Small Alison at the front door? Let me run and see, I do want you to know my baby.”

It was Small Alison. She was in a serious mood, but, after being duly admired, admitted Tony into the circle of her friends. With children he was subject to a shyness foreign to him under all other circumstances; he knew even less about them than most males of his age.

The Professor had not yet returned, to Alison’s distress. “You’ll stay here, of course, dear? You can have your own old room. We shan’t be alone at first, I’m afraid (that sounds ungracious, but we shall be greedy of you for a while), because a cousin of Winthrop’s will be staying here for the next three days. She’s an Englishwoman, a Miss Sidmouth, and she has a companion. Such a pretty girl, Tony-boy, very English, with the most wonderful eyes; but so subdued, poor little thing. I don’t think she likes being a companion one little bit, and I’m sure it is her first attempt at it. She doesn’t look quite happy.”

“I expect you’re scheming to make things pleasanter for her already. I don’t blame her for disliking the companion business, it must be a rotten game; but I wish to Heaven