cushions and the
Admiral), and finally Curly Locks retired to rest on her grand-uncle's
knee.

Then the Three Bears came painfully back from the shrubbery, and Curly
Locks' acts of spoliation were revealed one by one. My assumption of
grief on the discovery of my empty porridge-bowl was so realistic that
the Stage Manager sat up in bed and commended me for it. Finally we went
the round of the furniture; Curly Locks was duly discovered; and I was
engaged in a life-and-death struggle for her shrieking person with the
bed itself, when there was a crunching of gravel, and the "machine"
drove up with Robin inside it.

After my secretary had greeted those of us whom he knew, and been
interrupted in the middle of a rapturous embrace from Phillis to be
introduced to those whom he did not, I took him off indoors for a meal,
through the breakfast-room window, and opened the portfolio of
correspondence which he had brought me from London.

"Hallo! Here is a letter for Dermott," I said. "I'll take it to him."

I stepped through the window and handed the letter to Dermott, who was
falling into line for a fresh game just outside.

"That envelope looks terribly official," said Dolly. "What does it all
mean?"

"I expect it means Aldershot," said Dermott ruefully. "However, I shan't
open it till lunch-time." And he stuffed the offending epistle into his
pocket, and returned to the game in hand with a zest and abandon that
betrayed ulterior motives in every antic.

We had seen a good deal of Captain Dermott that summer. Somehow he had
been in nearly every house we had visited; and his laborious expressions
of pleased surprise at meeting us there had now given way to specious
and transparent explanations of his own presence. The experts at
countless tea-tables and shooting-lunches were practically unanimous in
the opinion that Dolly could land her fish when she chose now; and as
the fish was a good fellow, and could offer her three thousand a-year
and the reflected glory of a D.S.O., it was generally conceded that my
youngest sister-in-law--have I ever mentioned that Dolly was the junior
Twin?--was about to do extremely well for herself.

I sat by Robin as he consumed his breakfast, and waded through my
correspondence. There was a good deal to sign and a good deal to digest,
and a good deal that was of no importance whatsoever. But the _clou_ of
the whole budget was contained in a private letter from my Chief. I read
it.

"My