be interested. I
imagine Caroline is a little less tractable, but Nancy is capable of
doing the most damage. She works with concrete materials. Caroline's
kit is crammed with nothing but ideas."

"Nothing _but_--" Billy groaned.

"As for this cave-man business--theoretically, they ought to react to
it,--both of them. They're both normal, well-balanced young ladies."

"They're both runnin' pretty hard to keep in the same place, just at
present."

"Nancy isn't doing that--not by a long shot," Dick said.

"She's not keeping in the same place certainly," Billy agreed.
"Caroline is all eaten up by this economic independence idea."

"It's a good idea," Dick admitted; "economic conditions are
changing. No reason at all that a woman shouldn't prove herself
willing to cope with them, as long as she gets things in the order
of their importance. Earning her living isn't better than the
Mother-Home-and-Heaven job. It's a way out, if she gets left, or
gets stung."

"I'm only thankful Caroline can't hear you." Billy raised pious eyes
to heaven but he continued more seriously after a second, "It's all
right to theorize, but practically speaking both our girls are getting
beyond our control."

"I'm not engaged to Nancy," Dick said a trifle stiffly.

"Well, you ought to be," Billy said.

Dick stiffened. He was not used to speaking of his relations with
Nancy to any one--even to Billy, who was the closest friend he
had. They walked up Broadway in silence for a while, toward the
cross-street which housed the university club which was their common
objective.

"I know I ought to be," Dick said, just as Billy was formulating an
apology for his presumption, "or I ought to marry her out of hand.
This watchful waiting's entirely the wrong idea."

"Why do we do it then?" Billy inquired pathetically.

"I wanted Nancy to sow her economic wild oats. I guess you felt the
same way about Caroline."

"Well, they've sowed 'em, haven't they?"

"Not by a long shot. That's the trouble,--they don't get any forrider,
from our point of view. I thought it would be the best policy to stand
by and let Nancy work it out. I thought her restaurant would either
fail spectacularly in a month, or succeed brilliantly and she'd make
over the executive end of it to somebody else. I never thought of her
buckling down like this, and wearing herself out at it."

"There's a pretty keen edge on Caroline this summer."

"I'm afraid Nancy's in pretty deep,