-ullo--ullo!" said Archie, advancing happily.

"Archie, darling, this is father," said Lucille.

"Good Lord!" said Archie.

There was one of those silences. Mr. Brewster looked at Archie. Archie
gazed at Mr. Brewster. Lucille, perceiving without understanding why
that the big introduction scene had stubbed its toe on some unlooked-for
obstacle, waited anxiously for enlightenment. Meanwhile, Archie
continued to inspect Mr. Brewster, and Mr. Brewster continued to drink
in Archie.

After an awkward pause of about three and a quarter minutes, Mr.
Brewster swallowed once or twice, and finally spoke.

"Lu!"

"Yes, father?"

"Is this true?"

Lucille's grey eyes clouded over with perplexity and apprehension.

"True?"

"Have you really inflicted this--THIS on me for a son-in-law?" Mr.
Brewster swallowed a few more times, Archie the while watching with
a frozen fascination the rapid shimmying of his new relative's
Adam's-apple. "Go away! I want to have a few words alone with
this--This--WASSYOURDAMNAME?" he demanded, in an overwrought manner,
addressing Archie for the first time.

"I told you, father. It's Moom."

"Moom?"

"It's spelt M-o-f-f-a-m, but pronounced Moom."

"To rhyme," said Archie, helpfully, "with Bluffinghame."

"Lu," said Mr. Brewster, "run away! I want to speak to-to-to--"

"You called me THIS before," said Archie.

"You aren't angry, father, dear?" said Lucilla.

"Oh no! Oh no! I'm tickled to death!"

When his daughter had withdrawn, Mr. Brewster drew a long breath.

"Now then!" he said.

"Bit embarrassing, all this, what!" said Archie, chattily. "I mean
to say, having met before in less happy circs. and what not. Rum
coincidence and so forth! How would it be to bury the jolly old
hatchet--start a new life--forgive and forget--learn to love each
other--and all that sort of rot? I'm game if you are. How do we go? Is
it a bet?"

Mr. Brewster remained entirely unsoftened by this manly appeal to his
better feelings.

"What the devil do you mean by marrying my daughter?"

Archie reflected.

"Well, it sort of happened, don't you know! You know how these things
ARE! Young yourself once, and all that. I was most frightfully in love,
and Lu seemed to think it wouldn't be a bad scheme, and one thing led to
another, and--well, there you are, don't you know!"

"And I suppose you think you've done pretty well for yourself?"

"Oh, absolutely! As far as I'm concerned, everything's topping!