"Forty-three pounds seven and twopence, nearly fifty pounds, my
darlings, in solid coin of the realm, and all of our amassing!" cried
Nan three hours later, as the last visitor drove away from the door of
Thurston House, and the contents of the cash-boxes were counted over by
half a dozen eager workers. "Here's a triumph for us, for our hopes
never soared above a modest twenty pounds, and where it has all come
from, I don't know! A great deal of work is left, so that, I fear me,
our friends must have wasted their substance on eating and drinking and
riotous living, as exemplified by sails in the punt. I could have sold
my carvings three times over, and the compliments which were showered
upon me I would blush to repeat! My cheeks ache with smiling polite
acknowledgments, and indeed I'm nothing but a mass of aches from head to
foot. How on earth do poor girls manage to stand behind a counter all
day, and not snap off the customers' heads? My poor feet are in a
lamentable condition!"

"I'm sorry to hear it; but they look, if you will allow me to say so,
considerably better than they did a few hours ago," said Gervase,
glancing at the white shoes with an approving smile. "Why don't you sit
down, if you are so tired? There is a delightful seat waiting under
that tree, and no more work to do, so that I should say the sooner you
take possession of it the better!"

"Oh yes, yes. Let's all go!" gushed Agatha, leading the way onward,
unconscious of Gervase's look of dismay. "Let's go and rest, and talk
it all over! The best part of an entertainment is when the people go,
and you can quiz them, and make remarks, and--"

"Eat up the scraps!" concluded Kitty aptly, seizing a plate of cakes
from a table as she passed, and illustrating her words with the aid of
the daintiest morsel she could select. Christabel ejaculated "Kittay!"
in a tone of dignified remonstrance; but the protest was for form's sake
merely, for hers were the next pair of hands to rob the dish, and it was
neither _one_ macaroon, nor two, which satisfied her appetite.

"I really think it has been a great success," she said, munching away,
and using an even greater amount of emphasis than usual in her elation
of spirits. "The people behaved splendidly! Miss Shorter's behaviour I
consider simply _noble_! Do you know what she did? Refused to buy
anything at all, my deahs, until every one else had chosen, and then
went about buying up all the old r