Brooklini
under a soft light, and losin' his head the minute she begins cooin'
low notes to him. That's what she was doin' now, him gazin' up at her,
and her gazin' down at him. It was about the mushiest performance I
ever see.

"Ahem!" says the Bishop, clearin' his throat and blushin' a lovely
maroon colour. "I--er--we did not intend to intrude; but----"

Then it was up to Ferdy to show the red. He opens his mouth and gawps
at us for a whole minute before he can get out a word. "Why--why,
Bishop!" he pants. "What--how----"

Before he has time to choke, or the Bishop can work up a case of
apoplexy, I jumps into the ring. "Excuse us doin' the goat act," says
I; "but the Bishop has got some word for you from the folks at home,
and he wants to get it off his mind."

"Ah, friends of yours, Ferdy?" says Madam Brooklini, throwin' us about
four hundred dollars' worth of smile.

There was nothin' for Ferdy to do then but pull himself together and
make us all acquainted. And say, I never shook hands with so much
jewelry all at once before! She has three or four bunches of sparks on
each finger, not to mention a thumb ring. Oh, there wa'n't any
mistakin' who skimmed the cream off the box office receipts after you'd
took a look at her!

And for a straight front Venus she was the real maraschino. Course,
even if the complexion was true, you wouldn't put her down as one of
this spring's hatch; but for a broad, heavy weight girl she was the
fancy goods. And when she cuts loose with that eighteen-carat voice of
hers, and begins to roll them misbehavin' eyes, you forgot how the
chair was creakin' under her. The Bishop has all he can do to remember
why he was there; but he manages to get out that he'd like a few
minutes on the side with Ferdy.

"If your message relates in any way to my return to Newport," says
Ferdy, stiffenin' up, "it is useless. I am not going there!"

"But, my dear Ferdy----" begins the Bishop, when the lady cuts in.

"That's right, Bishop," says she. "I do hope you can persuade the
silly boy to stop following me around and teasing me to marry him."

"Oh, naughty!" says I under my breath.

The Bishop just looks from one to the other, and then he braces up and
says, "Ferdinand, this is not possible, is it?"

It was up to Ferdy again. He gives a squirm or two as he catches the
Bishop's eye, and the dew was beginnin' to break out on his noble brow,
when Ducky reaches over and gives his han