"You never heard her speak of Mrs. Caudle?"
"Never!"
"Strange!" murmured Mr. Nuttall. "There is a deep mystery here. For you have the Mrs. Caudle spirit so very strongly developed, Maria, that I am certain a family connection exists between you."
Not knowing whether this were meant for a compliment or a reproach, Mrs. Nuttall deemed it wise to make no comment upon it. So she proceeded to ask him about the dinner at which he had been present.
"It was a very nice dinner," said Mr. Nuttall.
"And how many people were there, Nicholas?"
"A room full."
"How do I know what sized room it was--it might hold twenty, or it might hold a thousand--how many sat down to dinner?"
"A hundred--a hundred and fifty--two hundred--two hundred and fifty," said Mr. Nuttall, vaguely.
"Was your brother there, Nicholas?"