re only his wife,
the Major, and the bride on the veranda. And, after all, why shouldn't
he? Cornucopia could always be relied upon to play up--her
conversational well was inexhaustible, and as for Mrs.
Thatcher--nothing natural ever stopped the incessant wagging of her
tongue.

But it was not to be. He heard a new voice, the squeak of a cane chair
suddenly pushed back, looked up to see the Major in an attitude of
false delight and out came Mrs. Cooper Jekyll followed,--as he inwardly
exclaimed,--"by the gentle Alice Palgrave, by all that's complicating!
Well, I'm jiggered."

"Well," cried Cornucopia, extending her ample hand. "This IS a
surprise."

"Yes, I intended it to be," said Mrs. Jekyll, more than ever
Southampton in her plague veil and single eyeglass, "just to break the
aloofness of your beach life."

"And dear Alice, too,--neater than ever. How very nice to see you, my
dear, and how's your poor mother?"

Her little hand disappearing between Mrs. Hosack's two podgy members
like the contents of a club sandwich, Alice allowed herself to be
kissed on both cheeks, murmured an appropriate response, greeted the
Thatchers, waved to Hosack who came forward as quickly as he could with
pins and needles in one leg and threw a searching glance about for
Gilbert.

Every one caught it and gathered instinctively that Mrs. Jekyll had
been making mischief. She had certainly succeeded in her desire to
break the aloofness. The presence of Alice at that moment, with Gilbert
behaving like a madman, was calculated to set every imagination jumping.

"Um, this won't make G. P. any better tempered," thought Hosack, not
without a certain sense of glee.

Mrs. Jekyll disclosed her nose and mouth, which, it seemed, were both
there and in perfect condition. "I was in town yesterday interviewing
butlers,--that Swiss I told you about refused to be glared at by Edmond
and left us on the verge of a dinner party, summing us all up in a
burst of pure German,--and there was Alice having a lonely lunch at the
Ritz, just back from her mother's convalescent chair. I persuaded her
to come to me for a few days and what more natural than that she should
want to see what this wonderful air has done for Gilbert--who has
evidently become one of the permanent decorative objects of your
beautiful house."

"Cat," thought Mrs. Thatcher.

"And also for the pleasure of seeing so many old friends," said Alice.
"What a gorgeous stretch of sea!" She