r and sister these proceedings
were ominous of an impending narrative, protracted to a formidable
length. The two always told a story in couples, and always differed
with each other about the facts, the sister politely contradicting
the brother when it was Sir Joseph's story, and the brother politely
contradicting the sister when it was Miss Lavinia's story. Separated one
from the other, and thus relieved of their own habitual interchange
of contradiction, neither of them had ever been known to attempt the
relation of the simplest series of events without breaking down.

"It was five years before I knew you, Richard," proceeded Sir Joseph.

"Six years," said Miss Graybrooke.

"Excuse me, Lavinia."

"No, Joseph, I have it down in my diary."

"Let us waive the point." (Sir Joseph invariably used this formula as a
means of at once conciliating his sister, and getting a fresh start for
his story.) "I was cruising off the Mersey in a Liverpool pilot-boat. I
had hired the boat in company with a friend of mine, formerly notorious
in London society, under the nickname (derived from the peculiar brown
color of his whiskers) of 'Mahogany Dobbs.'"

"The color of his liveries, Joseph, not the color of his whiskers."

"My dear Lavinia, you are thinking of 'Sea-green Shaw,' so called from
the extraordinary liveries he adopted for his servants in the year when
he was sheriff."

"I think not, Joseph."

"I beg your pardon, Lavinia."

Richard Turlington's knotty fingers drummed impatiently on the table. He
looked toward Natalie. She was idly arranging her little morsels of
ham in a pattern on her plate. Launcelot Linzie, still more idly, was
looking at the pattern. Seeing what he saw now, Richard solved the
problem which had puzzled him on deck. It was simply impossible that
Natalie's fancy could be really taken by such an empty-headed fool as
that!

Sir Joseph went on with his story:

"We were some ten or a dozen miles off the mouth of the Mersey--"

"Nautical miles, Joseph."

"It doesn't matter, Lavinia."

"Excuse me, brother, the late great and good Doctor Johnson said
accuracy ought always to be studied even in the most trifling things."

"They were common miles, Lavinia."

"They were nautical miles, Joseph."

"Let us waive the point. Mahogany Dobbs and I happened to be below in
the cabin, occupied--"

Here Sir Joseph paused (with his amiable smile) to consult his
memory. Miss Lavinia waited (with _her_ amiab