"Stay! I'll wire to James!"

"I'm damned if you do!" bellowed Hilary Vance.

"I must! I must!" cried the Honourable John Ruffin, still dramatic.

"You don't know his address, thank goodness!" growled Hilary Vance
triumphantly. "And you won't get it from me."

"I shan't? Then it's hopeless indeed," said the Honourable John Ruffin
with a gesture of despair. He stood and seemed to plunge into deep
reflection, while Hilary Vance scowled an immense scowl at him.

The Honourable John Ruffin allowed a faint air of hope to lighten his
gloom; then he said:

"There's a chance--there's yet a chance!"

"I don't want any chance!" cried Hilary Vance stormily. "You can jolly
well mind your own business and leave me alone. I can look after myself
without any help from you--or James either."

"Whom the gods wish to destroy they first madden young," said the
Honourable John Ruffin sadly. "But there's always Pollyooly; she may
save you yet. I came to suggest that while I'm away in Buda-Pesth you
should let Pollyooly and the Lump occupy that spare bedroom of yours. I
don't like leaving them alone in the Temple; and I thought that you might
like to have them here for a while, though I fear Pollyooly will clean
the place." He looked round the studio gloomily. "But you can stand
that for once, I expect," he went on more cheerfully. "At any rate it
would be worth your while, because you'd learn what grilled bacon really
is."

At the mention of the name of Pollyooly the scowl on Hilary Vance's face
began to smooth out; as the Honourable John Ruffin developed his
suggestion it slowly disappeared.

"Oh, yes; I'll put them up. I shall be delighted to," he said eagerly.
"Pollyooly gives more delight to my eye than any one I know. And there
are so few people in town, and I'm lonely at times. I wish I liked
bacon, since she is so good at grilling it; but I don't."

The Honourable John Ruffin came several steps down the room wearing an
air of the wildest amazement:

"You don't like bacon?" he cried in astounded tones. "That explains
everything. I've always wondered about you. Now I know. You are one of
those whom the gods love; and I can't conceive why you didn't die
younger."

"I don't know what you mean," said Hilary Vance, bristling and scowling
again.

"You don't? Well, it doesn't matter. But I'm really very much obliged
to you for relieving me of all anxiety about those children."

They discussed the hour