clam cocktail, and it nearly choked me to death.
I tried hard to keep Mrs. Innitt from seeing what had happened, but she
is watchful if not brainy, and all my efforts went for naught. She was
much mortified of course and apologized profusely. All went well until
the fish, when one of the two hair-pins turned up in the pompano to the
supreme disgust of my hostess, who was now beginning to look worried.
Hair-pin number two made its debut in my timbale. This was too much for
the watchful Mrs. Innitt, self-poised though she always is, and despite
my remonstrances she excused herself from the table for a moment, and I
judge from the flushed appearance of her cheeks when she returned five
minutes later that somebody had had the riot act read to her somewhere.

"'I don't understand it at all, Mrs. Van Raffles,' she said with a
sheepish smile. 'Cook's perfectly sober. If anything of the kind ever
happens again she shall go.'"

"Even as Mrs. Innitt spoke I conveyed a luscious morsel of filet mignon
with mushrooms to my mouth and nearly broke my tooth on a piece of
gravel that went with it, and Norah was doomed, for although we all
laughed heartily, the thing had come to be such a joke, it was plain
from the expression of Mrs. Innitt's countenance that she was very, very
angry.

"'Forgive her this time for my sake, Mrs. Innitt,' I pleaded. 'After all
it is the little surprises that give zest to life.'"

"And you didn't have to use the automobile nut?" I asked, deeply
impressed with the woman's ingenuity.

"Oh yes," said Henriette. "As dinner progressed I thought it wise to
use it to keep Mrs. Innitt from weakening; so when the salad was passed
I managed, without anybody's observing it, to drop the automobile nut
into the bowl. The Duke of Snarleyow got it and the climax was capped.
Mrs. Innitt burst into a flood of tears and--well, to-morrow, Bunny,
Norah leaves. You will take her this ten-dollar bill from me, and tell
her that I am sorry she got into so much trouble on my account. Say that
if I can be of any assistance to her all she has to do is to call here
and I will do what I can to get her another place."

[Illustration: "ON HER WAY TO BARLY CHURCH I WAYLAID NORAH"]

With this Henriette retired and the next morning on her way to early
church I waylaid Norah. Her eyes were red with weeping, but a more
indignant woman never lived. Her discharge was unrighteous; Mrs. Innitt
was no lady; the butler was in a conspiracy t