Esther peered more perseveringly into the corner. Then she stretched out her hand towards the switch of the electric light.
"Don't," said Judith, very sharply.
Esther's eyes grew wide. "Why, you silly girl, I believe you're——!"
"Yes, I am, and it's a very good thing to cry over. Think of all those poor people, working so hard, and—it's all for nothing, I suppose! And Arthur! How brave he was over it! He couldn't have been more—more attentive and—and gay if it had been the greatest success. But I knew what he was feeling. I laughed like a maniac—and my hands are sore. What's the use? Who's the idiot who wrote it?"
"Well, if you come to that, I daresay the poor man is just as much upset as Arthur Lisle is."
Judith was in no mood for impartial justice. "Getting them to produce a thing like that is almost obtaining money under false pretences. Why don't they know, Esther?"
"I'm sure I don't know. It's easy enough to tell when you see it."
"I was awfully frightened even when he told us about it."
"At dinner, you mean? Yes, so was I. But it was no use saying——"
"Oh, of course, it was no use saying anything about it! What will he do now? Will he get any of his money back, I wonder!" Judith might be seen through the gloom dabbing her cheeks forlornly. "And I did think it was going to be a jolly evening!" she ended.