She opened the door into the spotless kitchen, and the two maids sprang instantly to attention. One of them was cleaning silver, the other was still lingering over tea. The first was very long, and the second very short.
Luke slapped his leg enthusiastically. “Oh, by Jove,” he said, “this is ripping. Morse. Don’t you see? Dot and Dash. Dot and Dash.”
He howled with laughter. Dash dropped the tea-pot. Dot had hysterics.
“I think,” said Mabel, without a smile, “we had better go into the garden.”
Everything in the garden was lovely.
“Luke,” said Mabel, “I did not quite like what you said in the kitchen just now. It was just a teeny-weeny——”
“Funny, wasn’t it?” said Luke. “You must admit it was funny. Seemed to come to me all of a flash. I’ll bet that nothing more amusing has been said in this house since the day it was built. Dot and Dash! Dot and Dash! Oh, help!”
He rolled about the path in uncontrollable laughter.
Mabel looked sadder and sadder. He said that made it all the funnier, and laughed more.
After dinner he wrote the joke out carefully. It seemed a pity that Punch should not have it. Mabel yawned, and said she would go up to bed.