her brother; a moment later he noted that the
Wrotsleys _had_ brought their cousin.

Two against three would have been exciting and possibly unpleasant; one
against three promised to be about as amusing as a visit to the dentist.
Rollo ordered his carriage for as early as was decently possible, and
faced the company with a smile that he imagined the better sort of
aristocrat would have worn when mounting to the guillotine.

"So glad you were able to come," said the elder Wrotsley heartily.

"Now, you children will like to play games, I suppose," said Mrs.
Jallatt, by way of giving things a start, and as they were too well-bred
to contradict her there only remained the question of what they were to
play at.

"I know of a good game," said the elder Wrotsley innocently. "The
fellows leave the room and think of a word; then they come back again,
and the girls have to find out what the word is."

Rollo knew the game. He would have suggested it himself if his faction
had been in the majority.

"It doesn't promise to be very exciting," sniffed the superior Dolores
Sneep as the boys filed out of the room. Rollo thought differently. He
trusted to Providence that Wrotsley had nothing worse than knotted
handkerchiefs at his disposal.

The word-choosers locked themselves in the library to ensure that their
deliberations should not be interrupted. Providence turned out to be not
even decently neutral; on a rack on the library wall were a dog-whip and
a whalebone riding-switch. Rollo thought it criminal negligence to leave
such weapons of precision lying about. He was given a choice of evils,
and chose the dog-whip; the next minute or so he spent in wondering how
he could have made such a stupid selection. Then they went back to the
languidly expectant females.

"The word's 'camel,'" announced the Wrotsley cousin blunderingly.

"You stupid!" screamed the girls, "we've got to _guess_ the word. Now
you'll have to go back and think of another."

"Not for worlds," said Rollo; "I mean, the word isn't really camel; we
were rotting. Pretend it's dromedary!" he whispered to the others.

"I heard them say 'dromedary'! I heard them. I don't care what you say;
I heard them," squealed the odious Dolores. "With ears as long as hers
one would hear anything," thought Rollo savagely.

"We shall have to go back, I suppose," said the elder Wrotsley
resignedly.

The conclave locked itself once more into the library. "Look