in the shadow of the lilacs.

Inside, these two cousins, young American and young Englishwoman, who
might be going to fight for a fortune, stared at each other with a
measuring glance that was not at all unfriendly. In the eyes of both I
read the same question.

"Now, what are you going to do about it? What are you going to do about
it?"

After a pause Miss Million said: "Well, this'll mean a lot of worry and
noosance, I suppose. Going to Lawr! Never thought I should come to that
sort of thing. Courts, and lawyers, an' all that----"

She looked straight at the young American, who nodded.

"Yes, I guess that's what fighting this thing out will mean," he agreed.

Miss Million knit her brows.

"Lawr," she said reflectively, voicing the sentiment of our whole sex on
this vexed subject. "Lawr always seems to be ser _silly_! It lets a
whole lot o' things go on that you'd think ought to 'a' been stopped
hundreds of years ago by Ack of Parliament. Then again, it drops on you
like one o' them bombs of yours for something that doesn't make
twopennyworth of difference to anybody, and there you are with forty
shillings fine, at least. An' as for getting anything done with going to
Lawr about it, well, it's like I used to say to the butcher's boy at
Putney when he used to ask me to give him time to get that joint
brought round: 'Time! It isn't time you want, it's Eternity!'

"Going to Lawr! What does it mean? Paying away pots o' money to a lot o'
good-for-nothing people for talking to you till you're silly, and
writing letters to you that you can't make head nor tail of, and then
nothing settled until you're old and grey. If then!"

"That's quite an accurate description of my own feelings towards the
business," said the other candidate for Miss Million's fortune. "I'm not
breaking my neck or straining myself any to hand over to the lawyers any
of the precious dollars that I want for the wedding-portion of my
machine."

"Go to law----No, that's not a thing I want to do," repeated the present
owner of the precious dollars. "Same time, I'm not going to lose any of
the money that's mine by right if I can possibly keep hold on it--that's
only sense, that is!"

And she turned to me, while again I felt as if I were a referee. "What
do you say, Smith?"

I was deadly puzzled.

I ventured: "But if you've both made up your minds you must have the
money, there doesn't seem anything for it but to go to law, does there?"

"Wai