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.