hem,
do you?"

"That is a matter of personal taste," said Mr. Carteret. "There is no
law against it."

"But nobody that one knows--" began Mrs. Ascott-Smith.

"There was John Rohlfs," said Mr. Carteret; "he was a very well known
chap."

"Do you know him?" asked Mrs. Brawle.

The Curate sniggered. His hour of triumph had come. "Rohlfs is dead," he
said.

"Really!" said Mrs. Brawle, coldly. "It had quite slipped my mind. You
see I never read the papers during the hunting. But is his wife
received?"

"I believe that she was," said Mr. Carteret.

The Curate was still sniggering and Mrs. Brawle put her glass in her eye
and looked at him. Then she turned to Mr. Carteret. "But all this," she
said, "of course, has nothing to do with the question. Do you think that
these red Indians could ride bareback across our country?"

"As I said before," replied Mr. Carteret, "it would be silly of me to
express an opinion, but I should be interested in seeing them try it."

"I have a topping idea!" cried Lord Frederic. He was a simple-minded
fellow.

"You must tell us," exclaimed Mrs. Ascott-Smith.

"Let us have them down, and take them hunting!"

"How exciting!" exclaimed Mrs. Ascott-Smith. "What sport!"

The Major looked at her reprovingly. "It would be as I said," he
observed.

"But it would be rather interesting," said Mrs. Brawle.

"It might," said the Major, "it might be interesting."

"It would be ripping!" said Lord Frederic. "But how can we manage it?"

"I'll mount them," said the Major with a grim smile. "My word! They
shall have the pick of my stable though I have to spend a month
rebreaking horses that have run away."

"But it isn't the mounts," said Lord Frederic. "You see I've never met
any of these chaps." He turned to Mr. Carteret with a sudden
inspiration. "Are any of them friends of yours?" he asked.

Mrs. Ascott-Smith looked anxiously at Mr. Carteret, as if she feared
that it would develop that some of the people in the show were his
cousins.

"No," he replied, "I don't think so, although I may have met some of
them in crossing the reservations. But I once went shooting with Grady,
one of the managers of the show."

"Better yet!" said Lord Frederic. "Do you think that he would come and
bring some of them down?" he asked.

"I think he would," said Mr. Carteret. He knew that the showman was
strong in Grady--if not the sportsman.

The Major rose to go to the billiard room. "I have one piece