The next morning, when Mr. Tremain sauntered down the broad stairs, that gave upon the inner hall, he found that favourite place of resort already occupied, and about twenty tongues were going at full gallop, every one talking, no one listening, while far above the well-bred clamour, rose Dick Darling's high-pitched treble.

"I say we must; oh, what a most too unutterably utter lark! Esther, you are a trump, you are a saint, you are a double-distilled daisy, and you deserve to have a free-actioned, high-stepping trotter, and a skeleton selfish waggon, for your very, very own!"

"You are very kind, Dick," and this time it was Mrs. Newbold's voice, "but indeed, I don't want a reward of merit of that description, I fail to appreciate it, my dear. A nasty little abominable trotting waggon, all bones and ribs, and no flesh, and a monstrosity of a horse that would drag my arms from their sockets and me over its head before I could say——"

"Jack Robinson," broke in the irrepressible Dick, "though why one is always supposed to invoke that mythical personage, in times of surprise, it is beyond me to explain. However, you are about right, Esther, for now I come to think of it, what would you do with your legs?"

"Oh, Dick, you are really too hopelessly vulgar," cried out a chorus of voices, to which Miss Darling not a whit abashed, replied:

"Well, and what would you have me call them?"

"You might say pedal extremities," remarked Miss James, to which brilliant suggestion Dick vouchsafed no further reply than a pronounced sniff and shrug of her shoulders.

Then Esther caught sight of Philip, and rose in pretty confusion to greet him.

"Ah, Mr. Tremain, you have stolen a march upon us, and invaded a woman's congress, and now, since you have been so very rash and bold——"

"'Oh, rash and bold!'" sang Dick, under her breath, with a comical Mikado gesture.

"You shall stay and be umpire. Perhaps, as you are a man," continued Esther, severely, "I may be able to drag a little bit of sense out of you."

"I doubt it," said Dick again, sotto voce.

"And so do I," echoed Philip aloud, at which there was a general laugh, and then a general and eagerly expressed desire that Mr. Tremain might be made as comfortable as possible, and at once admitted to the inner sanctorum of their circle.

Esther pulled forward the most seductive causeuse, Baby Leonard actually resigned a cushion for his head, and Dick Darling evolved the tiniest of cigarette cases and vesuvians from her knowing little coat pocket, and striking a light offered him a "real Turkish brew," assuring him that they were "quite the knob," and that she imported them herself, straight from the shores of the Bosphorus, a fact, which none of them being strong in geography, dared to contradict. Only Miss James refused to join in the general adulation; she sat quite still in her low wicker-chair, leaning her dark head against the gold-coloured cushions, and watching Philip, furtively, through her half-closed eyelids.

When the hubbub of welcome had somewhat subsided, and only a rippling laugh, or the frou-frou of the women's gowns, as their owners moved about listlessly, or settled themselves more comfortably in their luxurious chairs, gave evidence of the "concourse of tongues" that had been, Mr. Tremain ventured to ask, holding his unsmoked cigarette between his fingers, what had been the topic under discussion, when his untoward entrance silenced the music of their voices?

"Music of our voices, indeed!" mocked Dick, bringing her shoulders up to her little ears. "You flatter us, Mr. Tremain—at least you flatter me—the harmonies must have been strangely mixed in that galÈre; I never heard my shrill pipe called anything so fetching before. Speak for yourselves, girls, I am nothing if not honest."

"Don't be absurd, Dick," answered Miss James, pettishly; "what a miser you are to take everything to yourself in that fashion!"

"Speak for oneself, or no one will speak for you," said Dick, calmly. "I always find the best policy is that which brings oneself most into notice, and if you don't flaunt your own colours boldly, no one will haul 'em up for you."

"All this isn't very enlightening to Mr. Tremain," broke in Mrs. Newbold, in her pleasant fashion; "of course it's wildly exciting and interesting to us, but we can scarcely expect him to enter heart and soul, into the rights and wrongs of our feminine policy. Now the case in point, Philip, is this: next Thursday—ten days off, you see—will be my husband's birthday, and we thought it would be very nice to celebrate it for him in some jovial way."

"I suggested a dance," interrupted Baby Leonard, "because a dance is so easily done; one has only to put the whole affair in Delmonico's hands, and order one's dress, and let one's young men know the colours for one's bouquets, and fill up one's dance card twice over, and then you see—why then it is accomplished."

"Highly amusing for you, Baby, who never look to such advantage as valsing with Jack," said Esther, half indignantly, "but rather hard on poor old George, I think, seeing that the poor dear fellow can't dance a step, and after all, it's his birthday, you know."

"I don't suppose he would think of that," replied Miss Leonard, "I never did," at which self-evident ingenuousness Dick went off into a frenzy of laughter, which proved so infectious that they all joined in, until their united strength of lung attracted Jack Howard and Freddy Slade, who emerged from the billiard-hall, cues in hand, to know "what the dickens was the joke?" And then, when order was restored, and only Dick going off spasmodically in little spurts of merriment, the two men were invited to remain and become members of the council of war.

"Now, Esther, I have an idea," suddenly cried out Dick. "I don't get one very often, so attach it when you can. Let's have some downright first-class athletic sports. There's the gymnasium, just the ticket, with all the newest fads in bars, and poles, and trapezes. We girls might go in for the lighter exercises against the men, and then make way for their competitions in the higher science; and we could end up with a rousing good battle at ten-pins! Now that is a good suggestion. Don't you like it?" in a tone of intense astonishment, turning from one to another with a comical look of surprise on her fresh round face.

"I think it is perfectly disgusting," said Miss James, with scorn; "and quite worthy of you, Dick. The idea of making mountebanks of ourselves in those odious gymnasium costumes, to romp and riot about like a parcel of schoolboys! Besides, I don't see where George would come in, in your refined little programme, any better than in Baby's scheme!"

"Oh, he should give the prizes," answered Dick, not a whit abashed.

"Yes, and pay for them, too," muttered Jack Howard, a little maliciously.

"Well, I resign," said Dick, with the air of a martyr. "But really I don't see what we can do. We can't have races, because the ground's as hard as nails, and the poor dear beasties would lame themselves, and we can't have a yachting contest, because all the Squadron, and the crack boats, have gone off to Newport; and tennis is a bore, and dancing is a nuisance, and you look down on my healthy little device, so cudgel your own brains, my dears, mine refuse to evolve another iota of an idea!" And Miss Darling pulled out her cigarette-case and devoted herself to a minute inspection of its contents.

"Well, I am sure, the only things left to us are theatricals, or tableaux," said Esther, piteously; "the latter are simply odious, so it must be the former. After all, it's strange how one always does come back to theatricals; they always seem most satisfactory in the end."

"Because we all believe ourselves to be the one great actor of the future," said Mr. Tremain, with a smile; "it's only opportunity that we lack, not genius; and it's only other people's stupidity that fails to recognise our talents."

"You needn't count me in, Esther dear," cried Dick; "I never could act worth a cent, and what's more I hate it, pretending to be ever so many qualities that one is not, and never succeeding a third part as well as the most tuppenny-ha'penny actress at the Bowery!"

"Dick's severe," laughed Baby Leonard, "because the first and only time she was to have appeared in public the committee were obliged to ask her to resign, she made love in such a vigorous fashion, and charged the jeune premier as though he were a five-barred gate, and over him she would go, willy-nilly. She frightened him terribly, and he refused to go on with his rÔle if Miss Darling continued in hers."

"Baby dearly loves a sell," remarked Dick, good-naturedly, when the laugh at her expense had subsided; "but she's quite right, I'm quite too awfully horrid when it comes to making believe." With which little home thrust Miss Darling settled back in her chair beamingly.

"Then, since acting it is to be, let's settle the play," said Jack Howard. "It's always a long business, and we haven't any too much time at our disposal."

"There's School," suggested Miss James, "or Ours, or The Romance of a Poor Young Man; and oh, doesn't that make one weep for poor Montague?"

"Oh, how sentimental!" cried Dick. "Why don't you have something jolly, like The Mikado, or Ruddigore, or even Patience? There's something more in any one of them, than in all your love and moonshine plays put together."

"But since you refuse to join our company, Dick, isn't it a little grasping on your part to wish to coerce our choice?" said Esther, mischievously.

"I am dumb," answered Dick, shutting her mouth firmly, and only letting her laughing eyes glance merrily from one to another, as the discussion waxed fast and furious, and threatened to end in tears and temper.

It settled itself down at last, however, into a comedy, or melodrama, and a farce; and when, to end all further embarrassment, Mr. Tremain suggested a ballot to decide, it was accepted unanimously. The result gave the first preference to The Ladies' Battle, the second to the ever fresh Box and Cox.

"Of course you all know I don't act," said Mrs. Newbold, prettily, and withdrawing gracefully from all contest over the rÔles. "I never like anything so much as being wardrobe mistress and prompter, so I shall elect myself into those positions at once, and that clears off one superfluous woman."

Nor would she listen to any of the protestations and entreaties of her companions; she put her hands over her ears, and shook her head, until every little golden curl danced again, as she cried, laughingly: "It's no use, I don't hear you, and I'm not to be moved. I have chosen my favourite characters, and I won't give them up. Now then," bringing down her hands, "let us dispose of the rÔles. Baby, you must be LÉonie de Villegontier, you will look the character to perfection; Rosalie, whose forte though you may not think it, is comedy, shall be Mrs. Bouncer, in the farce; Jack, will you take De Grignon's rÔle? And you, Philip, I know Henri is an old friend in your hands, will you represent him once more?"

"And who is to be the Countess, Esther?" asked Miss James, with a little smile. "Are you keeping her part for some special favourite who has not yet arrived? It's the most important rÔle of all, and should be well taken, or the play will prove terribly flat."

"Have no fear, Rose," cried out Dick, forgetful of her vow of silence, "I know, my genius is once more to the front; for whom, of course, should Esther be keeping that part, except for the cleverest actress of you all—Patricia Hildreth—don't you know, pretty Patty——" She stopped as suddenly as she began, and, flushing crimson, stole a deprecatory look at Mr. Tremain's cold quiet face, which at that moment caught a reflection of her own painful blush.

"I beg your pardon," she murmured under her breath; and there followed a moment's constraint, broken immediately, however, by Philip asking quite naturally and easily:

"Then you are expecting Miss Hildreth, Mrs. Newbold? It is many years since I last saw her—act."

And then, just in time to save Esther's confusion, the luncheon-gong sounded, and the council broke up, straying off in twos and threes towards the dining-room.

"It's all very well," said Dick Darling, scoffingly, to Freddy Slade, as they sauntered along together, "having these miserable theatricals—they might as well have dumb-crambo at once, and be done with it—and, for my part, I can't see that poor George comes into it any better than he did with Baby and me, though Esther was so sharp about its being his birthday."

"Oh, George can pay the shot," answered Freddy, carelessly.

"I'm sure it's what he's always at, poor dear," retorted Dick, sharply; and as by this time they had reached the lunch-room, their argument came to an end.